The Fourth Universe
by Soul Hunter
Summary: One year after the events of FF8, the world was slowly settling down to an era of peace when Esthar and Galbadia have finally declared diplomatic relations. Balamb Garden is back in its original site, and everything seems to be looking up. But then, Hyn
1. Default Chapter Title

* * *

THE FOURTH UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 1

* * *

"Behold. The saviors of the universe. Guardians of humanity."

A crystal orb shines crimson luminescence, projecting hazy mystic images of six resolute young men and women defying tremendous odds in their attempt to vanquish the most despicable evil to have threatened all of existence.

"Ignoring their weaknesses, putting aside personal strife, conquering their direst and deepest fears."

Glowing bright yellow after casting a spell of motivational rage upon himself, a statuesque lad clad with a long coat and dirt-black hat clenched his teeth, as his impressive silver-coated combat rifle fired salvo after salvo of devastating neutron pulse energy beams at the majestic and fear-inspiring entity whose vile designs sought to compress all of space and time. With each hit, the entity winces in pain, unable to resist the debilitating effect of concentrated subatomic particles bombarding its chronal energy-infused form.

"Their voyage was a long, arduous, and even painful one. Overwhelming horrific adversities, they have at last come face-to-face with this abomination of a sorceress."

Embattled to the core of his being, the man garbed in black poured all his energy in unleashing his deadliest maneuver: a flurry of lightning-quick swings, stabs and slashes that pummeled the weakened enemy. It culminated in a powerful final blow that left an energy trail right through the abomination's battered body.

"And in the end, they prevailed. They have saved existence from total extinction. And the world now owes them a debt that not even a million willing lives can sufficiently repay. There is no question about it. They are heroes. Magnificent warriors and protectors of life's inviolable sanctity."

White light fills the void. The air crackles with unimaginable power as the very life essence of the wicked sorceress empties back into the physical realm from whence it was stolen. Infernal noise resonates into all directions as her hellish screams of agony explode uncontrollably.

"Heroes."

Unfazed and unfettered, the mighty sestet stood their ground, gazing with squinted eyes at the spectacular demise of the repulsive death-bringer. Their black-clad leader maintained his menacing battle stance. The girl with the golden locks didn't relinquish the tight grip on her flexible whip. One whose face is painted with an indiscernible pattern stayed close-fisted, still prepared for the unexpected.

"No, not heroes. That is an understatement. An insult."

Then it began to die down. The light, the noise, the screams, all subsiding one after the other. Until there was nothing

"Legends. Legends all. To the very core of their beings."

except for the six stalwart warriors. Exhausted, panting, and shaking with residual rage. But their faces are marked with nothing but relief. A job well done. A journey ended. A mission accomplished. A universe saved.

"And I despise them. I hate each and every one of them. And I will take pure joy in purging their battle-ridden bodies of the very life essence that animates them."

The crimson light swirled and spiraled. Then dimmed into nothingness to reveal a huge silhouette. Gargantuan and ominous, the mere shadow of the incognito figure speaks pure might. Unadulterated power. Immeasurable malevolence.

"If you hate them so much, then why are you even bothering to what's that glorify their exploits?" The dark shade began.

"Glorify..? Glorify?!? I can see that the years have not been kind to you, old friend. Where's your cunning? Your diabolically astute judgment? Have they been all dulled by those countless centuries of sleeping inside that pathetic lamp? Have they been stripped of the very basic rule of battle that demands for warriors to know their enemies?"

"Hrrr" a barely audible groan echoed.

"You've been away too long. As have I. And both our faculties aren't as sharp as they used to be."

"No kidding." retorted the shadow. He then followed it up with an inquiry spawned by distant memories of the past. "It wouldn't have to be that way if you only listened to me before. Like, I still can't understand why you'd give away your powers just like that. We'd at least have had more of a fighting chance against Hyne had you done otherwise."

"I thought it was the call of the times. Wealth and power can only get a woman so far. And I thought I'd be happier if my name becomes spoken through the ages with a tone befitting that of a legend."

"So what's your problem? You got what you wanted. Not too many sorceresses become the center icon of religions, you know."

"Among a pitiful group of useless old hags who are mostly looked down by the better part of society? You call that being a legend?" snarled the first figure covered with a blood-red cloak. "And to make things monumentally worse, THESE upstarts completely surpassed my greatness! And all it had to take was ONE battle against Ultimecia."

"What can I say?" replied the shadowy figure. "Some guys have all the luck."

"Do not mock me, creature. We may go a long way back, but don't ever think I'd hesitate to have you regressed to a pathetic Imp."

The enormous silhouette didn't answer, visibly shaken by the concealed woman's fearsome threat.

"Enough talk. We have a job to do. Have you accomplished what I set you out to do?"

"Yes I have, my lady. The remaining three have all been accounted for."

"And..?" the woman asked as she stared intently at her co-conspirator.

"Urhhh yes, of course. One is a flower vendor at Winhill. The second is a young mother based in Dollet. And we both know where the third one can be found."

"Yes hmm you're pulsating. Too eager to go after the third target?" the woman inquired with a wry smile.

"Hrrr, YES!" the creature quivered. "I I have waited so long for this golden chance at retribution!"

"Are you sure you want to do this, Tengu? You don't find your task daunting? You do know quite well that you'll be facing nothing less than a Guardian Force."

"ARRRGGGHHHHH!!! I WANT HIS BLACK AND STINKING BLOOD WASHING DOWN THE ROTTING MEAT CRUMBS CLINGING ON MY THROAT! AND I WILL SEE HIS REPULSIVE HEAD ADORNING THE VERY EDGE OF MY FEARSOME DEMON ROD! I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE ON DIABLOS!"

"That you will." The mysterious woman concurred. "You will have your revenge, and I will regain my godhood. This is going to be the sweetest moment in both our eternal lives, Tengu."

* * *

Sturdy steel structures and titanium trusses provided an unsightly contrast to the breath-taking grandeur of the famous Balamb Garden central edifice. It's not exactly a sight to behold, but at least Quistis knows that the work of restoring the Garden to its original sight in Balamb country will be over within a month. The popular instructor of the illustrious military academy lets out a sigh. For what purpose, she's not so sure.

It has been a year since that fateful event when they were compelled by incredible circumstances to travel into the future and face the vile sorceress known only as Ultimecia. Quistis still remembers the battle quite well. Well, who wouldn't? It almost cost her and her friends their lives. But more importantly, it was truly a task where failure was not an option. Anything less that total and complete victory would have meant the end of all that is, was, and will be. Though it has been that long, she still shudders at the thought of what their failure would have amounted to.

"Hmph, better stop thinking about it." the wise teenager dismissed her thoughts.

"Seems like yesterday when we last visited this place, huh." A voice from behind startled the bemused SeeD. She turned around to the welcome sight of her comrade and long time friend, the now equally popular Squall Leonhart.

"What? Oh, yeah. Seems like" Quistis trailed off, half questioning the circumstances that brought him to approach her like this. For as long as she can remember, not once did Squall take the initiative to come and talk to her. She was always the first to approach, the first to break the silence, and the first to be given the cold shoulder.

But what the heck, Quistis thought. It was all in the past. Though she knows only too well how notorious Squall was for his chilly attitude toward everybody, her observations of his recent behavioral pattern seemed to suggest that he was indeed a changed man. And frankly, she's not even half-surprised. Funny how being in love brings out the best in nearly everybody.

"Hey Squall. Fancy meeting you here." Quistis retorted as Squall occupied a spot right next to her along the wrought iron railings of the secret area', a secluded location in the Garden just beyond the monster-infested training center. "Where's Rinoa?"

"She's with Zell. And guess what those two are talking about."

"What?" the pretty instructor quizzically replied.

"Zell, of all people, is trying to convince Rinoa to give it a shot at a heart-to-heart talk with her father." Squall shot back, trying to hide an amused smile. "Don't you find that funny?"

"Zell? No, not at all. You know, Squall, you should give the guy more credit. Zell he seems to act brash and impatient most of the times. But he's a good man. If anything, he just cares too much about everyone."

"You think so?"

"I know so. And among the six of us, I think Zell is most qualified to give Rinoa a pointer or two about getting along with her dad. Remember, he's the only one among us who actually had a pretty good childhood with a real family." Quistis added, referring to the Dinchts, a kindhearted family in Balamb who adopted Zell and brought him up as their own.

"Hmm, you're right. I totally forgot about his Ma Dincht. Damn GFs."

"There you go again." The instructor exclaimed while tossing a rolling glance toward her erstwhile student. "You know, you really can't go blaming the GFs whenever you forget something."

"Yeah, I guess you're right, as usual" Squall snapped back as he looked at Quistis. He totally forgot about the next thing he wanted to say when he noticed how his former instructor's eyes sparkled as it fixed its gaze on him. Squall fell silent, totally caught off guard and not knowing how to react while Quistis stared at him with those mesmerizing blue eyes. Though they've been friends for so long, this is perhaps the first and only time when he got a really good look at her. Struck with a sudden bout of discomfort, Squall tried to avoid staring back at her, but for some reason he found himself not wanting to tear his eyes off her lovely face.

"Wh-Why are you looking at me like that, Quistis?"

It took a few moments before the instructor responded. "H-Huh? Oh, uhh nothing. Nothing. I'm sorry" Quistis stuttered, as if she just snapped out of a hypnotic spell. "I I have to go."

Squall did nothing but watch as the visibly shaken Quistis hurriedly ran off. Quite a few seconds had already elapsed, but the stalwart SeeD was still gazing at the door where the instructor made her exit.

Turning his eyes toward the awe-inspiring sight of Balamb Garden, Squall can't help but shake his head as he recalled how, at this very spot, he crassly turned his back on her on that night of the SeeD inauguration more than a year ago. For the first time in his life, Squall felt repentant for the countless times he turned a deaf ear on almost everyone who asked for his help.

A deafening roar from the training center ripped through the silence, and made Squall jerk in attention. "Quistis!"

Swiftly unsheathing his gunblade, Squall immediately dashed for the monster lair, where he found Quistis face-to-face with a full-grown T-Rexaur beast. With its gaping jaw and sharp fangs, the gargantuan monster flailed its massive tail as it prepares to pounce on the combat-ready instructor.

"Thanks for the assist, Squall. But I think I can handle this overgrown lizard. I still have a hundred Death spells junctioned to my status attack." Quistis assured her comrade who had just joined her. But before she can lash out at the beast with her deadly whip, a booming voice rang out from nowhere.

"NO!" the voice echoed, which distracted the two SeeDs. And before they could react, a man came running out of the bushes toward the monster. With lightning quick moves, the stranger managed to mount the T-Rexaur on the back of its neck. He hurled a metal ball attached to a long line made from Ochu tentacles. And as he jerked on the rope, the metal ball made a curved path around the creature's neck, coiling the rope around it. The T-Rexaur became even more enraged, bucking and struggling about as it tried to throw the fearless intruder off its back.

Squall and Quistis just stood there, mouths agape with wonder while witnessing the stranger riding the fearsome beast like a proverbial rodeo cowboy. They hardly even noticed the arrival of Selphie, Irvine, Zell and Rinoa, who joined them when they heard the T-Rexaur's loud howling from the cafeteria.

"What's the commotion all ab whoa!" Irvine blurted out. "Wow! Cool! I've always wanted to do that on a T-Rexaur!"

It seemed to take forever. But finally, the monster got tired of struggling and opted to fold its legs and rest its head on the ground in an apparent gesture of surrender. Looking equally exhausted, the stranger cautiously climbed down from the beast's neck. He stood in front of it for a few moments, then gave it a strong slap just above its nostrils. The T-Rexaur slowly picked itself up and subsequently strutted back, disappearing into the woods. When they became certain that it has indeed left, Squall and his crew approached the man, not knowing how to respond in reaction to his unconventional display of courage.

"Just have to show him who's boss, that's all." The stranger muttered when the SeeDs came within earshot.

"That's what we intended to do if you hadn't gotten in the way." Squall retorted, seemingly irked by the man's arrogance.

"And how did you plan to do it? By killing that poor creature? As you may have noticed, there are other LESS violent ways of approaching certain adversities."

Squall was about to give him the rub down when the stranger's appearance stirred some remote memories in his mind, recalling the time when the out-of-control Garden accidentally careened into the town called Fisherman's Horizon. 

"Hey, I know you, don't I? Are you one of the guys from FH doing the restoration job on the Garden?" he asked, referring to the crew of FH technicians who offered to lend their expertise in restoring Balamb Garden back to its original site, which it was forced to abandon in the effort to save itself from the missiles launched by Galbadia.

But Squall never got an answer to his question. Quietly coiling the Ochu rope back to its harness on his utility belt, the man ignored the six and promptly made his way to the exit. Squall's eyebrows drew closer. He felt the same bad vibes as before when he first met the man along the docks of FH.

"Hmph, for someone living in a town that hates fighting, that guy could sure give the average SeeD a run for his money." Zell exclaimed, obviously impressed by what he saw.

* * *

"I heard you had a talk with Zell about General Caraway." Squall started as he lay beside Rinoa in one of the SeeD single room quarters in the dormitory. "So how was it?"

"I don't know." She hesitated. "I don't know if I can still talk to him."

Squall let out a long sigh. Though he still maintains a hands-off attitude toward other people's problems unless they explicitly ask for his help, deep inside, he really wants Rinoa to be reconciled with her father. Because that's what he's been itching to do himself. It's already been a year, and yet he still can't manage to gather himself for a heart-to-heart talk with Laguna. Though the evidences he collected for the past few months do suggest a conclusion that Laguna and Raine are indeed his parents, Squall still doesn't know how to start a conversation with the current president of technologically advanced Esthar. There's just too many things to consider and too much complexities to resolve. 

"How do I start? How would I react? I used to think of him as a moron I wonder how he'd take it."

So many questions, Squall pondered. Is he ready for the answers?

"I have to go" he muttered as he lifted himself off the bed. "I'll just see you tomorrow. Good night."

Rinoa didn't answer. She just looked at him lovingly as he made his way towards the door. Just before disappearing from her sight, Rinoa called out to Squall.

"Honey"

"Yeah?"

"Uhh well, you know we've been going out for more than a year" Rinoa shyly remarked, which drew a fascinated smile from the SeeD commander.

"Uh-huh and..?"

"Do you think maybe even once you can well, you know spend the night with me..?"

Squall grinned even wider while staring back at the woman he loves with adoring eyes. No audible response came out from him as he went back inside her room and locked the door behind him.


	2. Default Chapter Title

* * *

THE FOURTH UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 2

* * *

"MMMM! Hot frickin' dogs, baby!"

"Zell, slow down. There's more where it came from."

"No way, instructor. I'm not taking any chances." Zell snapped back, grabbing an armful of the Garden delicacy as if his life depended on them.

"Is everyone here?"

"Oh, hello, Headmaster Cid." Quistis cheerfully greeted the headmaster who had just made an entrance. "Selphie and Irvine took the northwest side with Xu. We're just waiting for Squall and Rinoa to arrive."

"Okay, I'll just head right on there."

"Zell! Enough already!" the instructor turned her attention back to her comrade, who by that time had managed to borrow a wide serving tray and was currently loading it up with dozens of hotdogs. "You can't possibly eat all that in one sitting."

"Come on, Quisty. I'm getting enough for everybody. One of me, one for you, one for me, one for Selphie, one for me, one for Irvine, one for me, one for"

"Hey Zell, you planning on going on a long journey?" Rinoa interrupted as she walked alongside the two, arm-in-arm with Squall.

"Sup, guys! Hey, Squall, where were you? I dropped by your quarters this morning and you weren't there."

"Oh uhh, I was elsewhere" Squall sheepishly replied, throwing a tender look at the smiling Rinoa. Zell blushed when he caught on to the SeeD commander's implied message. Then he walked past the couple, his left hand balancing a tray full of hotdogs while his right balled to a fist, teasingly landing a soft jab on Squall's solar plexus.

"You go, boy!" Zell mumbled to his smirking comrade. 

Quistis' reaction, however, wasn't as affirming. As she eyed the couple walking just ahead of her, the melancholic instructor can't help but let out a sigh of defeat, surrendering herself to the fact that she can never have that one thing which she longed for for as long as she can remember.

"Just let go just let go" Quistis whispered to herself.

"Hey! The gang's all here! Pull up a chair, folks!" Irvine exclaimed as he greeted the newcomers. Seeming like this moment was way overdue, the group which consisted of Squall, Rinoa, Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, Zell, Headmaster Cid and Xu gathered together as they enjoyed a rare but delightful moment; talking, exchanging corny jokes and laughing with each other. Breakfast with hotdogs, in the company of friends and loved ones.

Assuming a more formal expression, Quistis broke the revelry with her usual, serious demeanor. "So, Headmaster, may I ask what this meeting is all about?"

"Come one, Quisty." Selphie retorted. "Can we like, forget about work for a while? We're still having so much fun."

"Much as I hate to break the fun, Quistis is right. Let's get down to business, everyone." Cid remarked, which elicited a whimper from the Trabian transfer student.

"Everyone, as you may all know, Esthar and Galbadia recently forged a peace agreement. President Laguna Loire of Esthar and acting President Richard Caraway of Galbadia are at the moment, in the process of drafting a treaty that, at the very least, could mean the end of the cold war between those two superpowers."

"Sounds good, Headmaster." Squall remarked. "We're finally on the verge of lasting peace."

"Way cool!" seconded the excited Zell.

"Yeah. But hasn't anyone ever considered another implication? Balamb Garden will lose its clientele." Xu interrupted, stressing a possible effect that with the absence of warring factions, Garden will lose its main source of income since no one would hire SeeDs anymore.

"Xu, we're talking world peace here. Don't you think Garden's income should take a back seat in light of this vastly more important development?" 

"I don't think Xu wanted those two countries to start fighting again if that's what you're thinking, Irvine." Quistis countered the former Galbadian student's remark.

"World peace is important. It is perhaps the one thing this war-torn planet needs most right now. I am definitely up to helping it if I can. But as of current, our job is to find some other way to finance Garden's operations. That, or we may have to shut down soon." The headmaster stressed, as he noticed Squall assuming a visage of deep thought. "What's on your mind, Squall?"

"Huh? Nothing, Headmaster."

"Squall" Rinoa muttered, as if imploring her lover to speak out his thoughts.

"Headmaster, Garden is my home. Not having clients to finance its operation is admittedly a serious thing that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. But I think shutting Garden down is a tad overboard, at the very least. I'm sure everyone in this table feels the same way." The head SeeD insisted, evoking a nod of approval from everybody.

"Now don't get me wrong, Squall." Cid replied. "I feel just as attached to this place as everyone of you. Okay, since the consensus appears to be geared toward keeping Balamb Garden running, then we have to find alternative means to keep the cash flow coming in. Ideas, anyone?"

"Hey, why not hold a benefit concert? I think we did a pretty good job before, so"

"Oh get real, Selphie." Zell reacted. "Who'd want to listen to a bunch of amateurs like us? I mean, playing Eyes on Me' can only get us so far. No offense, Rinoa."

"None taken." Rinoa nodded. "And Zell's got a point. Garden needs something long term."

The meeting was abruptly interrupted by the sudden arrival of Nida, who pulled the headmaster aside to deliver an urgent message. After a few moments, Cid returned to the table, eyes brimming with anticipation.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen. As the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for."

"What's up, Headmaster?" Zell curiously asked Cid.

"It seems a certain malevolent faction of the Galbadian army isn't a bit pleased with the ongoing peace talks. And they've just forcibly gained control of the Presidential Residence in Deling City, demanding for General Caraway to be relieved of his command." 

"What?!?" Rinoa exclaimed, as the news made her bolt up from her seat. "What about my d General Caraway?"

"Don't worry, Rinoa." Cid assuaged her. "Fortunately, General Caraway was out when the coup de tat came down. Right now he's in Esthar. President Loire was gracious enough to offer Esthar's protection until this crisis gets resolved. And that, my friends, is where we come in."

"Cool!" Irvine blurted out. "I've been dying for some action. So what do we do?"

"Major General Moyet is leading the rebel group. As it is, they're holding some key government officials as hostages. And Moyet is dangerously hardcore. So storming the place is out of the question because they might just execute some hostages." Cid paused for a few seconds before continuing. "General Caraway himself personally requested for your assistance. Your job is to enter the Presidential Residence – undetected – and secure the captives. It includes eliminating everything and everyone that gets in your way. When the hostages are safe, then you can leave the mop up operation to the Galbadian army and the Presidential Guard Corps."

"I got the Ragnarok fueled up and ready to go." Nida added. "You are to rendezvous with Presidential Guard commander, Captain Elias Mockingbird at the Tomb of the Unknown King. He will then escort you to Caraway Mansion, where you will access the secret passageway leading to the underground waterways. I have the schematics right h"

"No need for that, Nida. I know how to navigate the tunnels." Quistis interjected.

"Very well, unless you have questions, I suggest that you be underway." Cid instructed. The six wasted no time and immediately hurried forth. However, they were stopped dead on their tracks when Cid suddenly called them back.

"Rinoa, Irvine. You can't go with them."

"B-But why, headmaster?" a perplexed Rinoa echoed.

"Not until you read these." The headmaster responded while handing them two silver-lined documents. Irvine became wide-eyed after browsing through the papers.

"Headmaster this is a SeeD Rank Report! Does this mean"

"Just wanna make it official. Effective this very moment, you and Rinoa are hereby appointed as full-fledged SeeDs. You have to forgive me though if we can't hold a formal inauguration just ye"

"WOOWWW! Thank you, Headmaster!" Rinoa jubilantly exclaimed while wrapping her arms excitedly around Cid's neck.

"Come on, guys. We can hold a bash later." Squall remarked amidst his crew's festive mood brought about by the unexpected yet welcome development. "We have a job to do."

* * *

"And so, the drama commences. Vainly putting their faith on their vaunted invincibility, these six brave warriors speed to the aid of the weak. With their great powers, this simple task should be mere child's play for them. And yet"

Two clandestine figures watch as the speeding juggernaut known as the Ragnarok, a wondrous product of mighty Esthar's advanced technology, drew to a halt in mid-air. Intently staring at the object of their fascination and loathing, their eyes followed its movement, as it descended slowly on a wide patch of green land.

"And yet, little do they know that these same potent abilities they wield will provide me with the means to conquer them, and everything they stand for."

"IF you're plan works, that is." The heftier one interrupted.

"You doubt my scheme, Tengu. It's a wonder how much your faith for your master has waned. Do you find me inadequate now?"

"No, it's not that. It just sounds so far-fetched. That's all. The para-magic technology required for such a strategy is at the very least mind-boggling."

"Well, I guess I shouldn't expect too much from someone like you. All brawns, and nevermind. Just wait and see, my ignominious behemoth. In a short while, your disgusting moss-hued eyes will finally witness one of the most incredible feats in the history of mystic warfare."

"Hey, hey. I don't want to spoil you oratory fit, mistress. But the six have just joined the Galbadians. They're on their way to the arched city."

"And so are we, Tengu."

* * *

Picking up a crystal wineglass from the wall-mounted shelf, Rinoa examined the exquisite piece of glassware for a moment before setting it down on the statue right next to her. With the exception of Quistis, Zell and Selphie, the crew was startled when the sculptured form suddenly rotated to reveal a secret hallway.

"It's either I've been away too long or my d that man has started hiding a lot of things from me. I never knew about this hidden door until now."

"How would you know? You don't even talk to your old man anymore." Zell voiced out in reaction to Rinoa's accusing remark.

"Y Yeah, but"

"That's quite enough of that, you two." Squall intermitted. Turning to Quistis, "Are you sure you know the way around the sewers?"

"Hey, don't you trust me?" the instructor replied with a slight pout. "I'll take point. Everyone, be sure you're all junctioned.

Quietly, the group strutted into the dimly lit channel. Following the familiar path of revolving waterwheels and hardwood bridges, they eventually made their way around the dank sewer system and finally to a rusty metal ladder leading up. Squall firmly held the ladder, shaking it repeatedly to assess its firmness.

"It's quite unstable. Okay guys, let's do this one at a time. Zell, you go first."

"Roger that, Squall." Zell replied with a mock salute.

"Strange, no Creeps or Red Bats" Quistis softly wondered.

"Heh, I have Diablos junctioned." Selphie revealed. "Not quite as exciting as fighting, but it's good enough for government work."

Deeper into the north branch of the tunnel system, an ominous figure stirred in reaction to the young SeeD's remark.

"Diablos! My hated foe is with them!"

"Quiet, you beast. Do not spoil my plan with your petty thirst for revenge."

"Hrrrrrr" the dark shadow quivered, his steel-hard muscles tensing in unison with the clicking sound of his gnashing fangs. The vile monstrosity wanted desperately to attack, but his intense desire for vengeance is still easily overwhelmed by his fear of his mistress' wrath.

Still, Tengu's rage is not something that can be vanquished that easily. Eons had passed and generations had withered into nothingness, yet he remembers it like it was yesterday. A yesterday replete with repressed angst aimed toward his jailer. Toward the one commissioned to keep his mighty powers at bay with an even more powerful faculty that the Ogre-Bat so terribly dreads. Diablos, the keeper of the prison keys that incarcerated his great pride. The Guardian Force with the temerity to ignore his threats. He had vowed then of shoving his jailer's insolence down his hideous throat. And now, he is staring the opportunity in the face. All he needs now is patience, for his indignation is still not enough to offset his mistress' fury.

Meanwhile, the SeeD team managed to successfully make their way to the kitchen undetected. But not totally undetected. Zell and Irvine lagged behind, dragging four unconscious Galbadian rebels who were unfortunate enough to have stationed themselves along the SeeDs' path.

Regrouping inside the abandoned galley, Squall gathered his comrades together for a quick rebriefing. "So far, so good. The good news is, there's a lift hatch inside the kitchen that leads straight to the bedrooms on the third floor. The bad news is, we don't know in what room they're holding the hostages. I suggest we split up." Turning once more to the esteemed instructor, "Quistis, choose your party, go upstairs and secure the area. Just leave Selphie with me. We'll need her to operate the computers in the central security office."

"Got it. Zell, Irvine, you're with me."

As the heroic six dispersed, the two dark figures stalking them once again congregated. "Tengu, I trust that you have performed your task well."

"Have no fear, my lady. Those youthlings are in for the surprise of their lives once they get to face the Galbadians' weapon."

* * *

"Okay, two more to go. Selphie, punch in the code for the master bedroom."

"Okay, let's have it, Squall."

"Rinoa?"

The new SeeD nodded, then turned her attention back to the only Galbadian soldier in the room left conscious. "Just two more codes, Eiling. And I won't tell my father that you're with this rebellion."

"Damn spoiled brat" the cornered soldier murmured before giving out the required code. "Couch-potato Chocobo."

"Are these guys serious?" Selphie blurted out while punching in the access string. "First there's Bratty Moogle, then there's Catatonic Wendigo how do these people think up these pass codes anyway?"

"Who cares? Just type it in, Sefie."

"Okay, o wise and fearless leader."

The monitor blurred for a second as the camera control switched from one room to the next. Squall's fist clenched when the picture came back to reveal four Galbadian soldiers pointing their guns toward at least a dozen hostages.

"Bingo!" Turning on his communicator, Squall alerted the other party of their vital discovery. "Quistis, the master's bedroom at the left wing. Get a move on and secure the hostages."

"We're right outside it, Squall." Quistis' voice reverberated from the communicator's micro-speaker. "Zell's managed to climb inside the ventilation shaft and is currently right on top of the Galbadian soldiers. We're just waiting for your signal."

"Don't wait for us. Move now!"

Irvine heard Squall's faint order and took it as a cue. However, even before kicking the door open, the pair heard loud thumping sounds and tortured groans from inside the room. The noise lasted for a few seconds, after which the door opened to reveal a widely grinning Zell. Behind him, four azure-clad Galbadian infantrymen lay unconscious on the floor.

"I love this sneak attack bit." Zell beamed. 

His smirk then disappeared when the security alarm suddenly went off.

"Dammit! We're spotted like Dalmatians!" Irvine exclaimed.

The beleaguered SeeDs wasted no time in leading the hostages to the roof of the Presidential Residence, where the Ragnarok quietly hovered. "Quickly! Get on!" Zell hollered as the hostages frantically climbed aboard the magnificent spacecraft. The last captive had barely pulled his legs up when a battalion of Galbadian rogues appeared.

The three embattled warriors braced for battle. Then suddenly, the rebel soldiers were violently swept off their feet and sucked inside the grotesque form of the Guardian Force known as Pandemona. The mighty GF gathered his strength, then ejected the rogues with an even more forceful jet that carried them high into the air. A series of loud thuds resonated when the rogues landed hard on the concrete embankment of the rooftop.

"That's one windbag I don't mind tagging along with me." a smiling Rinoa cracked.

As the six SeeDs gathered together, a loud metallic shriek pierced the still night air. It was followed by a steady hum of an approaching Galbadian war machine. Squall held his gunblade tight when he recognized the robot.

"A Mobile Type 8. Be careful, team. Watch out for its Corona."

"Damn! Let's hit it hard and fast" Zell yelled, followed by a quick magic attack. "Thundaga!"

The robot winced when a powerful bolt of lightning exploded from the heavens, bombarding it with debilitating negative energy. The others immediately followed suit, wantonly casting Ultima and Thundaga attacks on the fearsome automaton. After two waves, the SeeDs were flabbergasted to see the robot still standing. Rinoa and Selphie contorted their faces in pain after the machine connected on them with twin homing lasers.

"Shit, this one is tough." Irvine remarked with apprehension. "Squall, any ideas?"

"Go for the clincher." The SeeD commander echoed before summoning his GF. "QUEZACOTL!"

Unbeknownst to the SeeDs, a pair of watchful eyes eagerly fixed their gaze on the spectacular bird-creature while it rained devastating lightning bolts on the enemy. Calling forth her arcane faculties, the painted woman in red projects her essence toward the Thunder Guardian's rain of mystic lightning, connecting to its power with her own to claim its magical signature.

"IFRIT!"

Invisible forces spew forth, drawing in the Fire Guardian's mark

"LEVIATHAN!"

Water magic became captive to the same formless receptacle

"ALEXANDER!"

As did Holy energies

"BROTHERS!"

And the power of the earth

"DOOMTRAIN!"

And poison

"PANDEMONA!"

Wind

"SHIVA!"

And ice

The summoned Guardians relentlessly pummeled the robotic foe with their dreaded elemental blows. Mobile Type 8 twitched, reeled back, and recoiled. After the smoke cleared, the SeeDs were gripped anew with shock when they saw the automaton still floating in front of them.

"One more to go. Come on, you wretched pretenders. Summon your mightiest ally."

"If this doesn't destroy this bucket of bolts, nothing will." A furious Zell shot out. "EDEN!"

Overcome by wicked rejoicing, the mysterious woman in red drew a deep breath. 

Above, the menacing form of the fabricated Guardian Force descended upon the vile machine. Using its unearthly energies, Eden mystically transformed the planet itself into a gigantic cosmic cannon, all the while drawing its target in front of its pulsating muzzle. Unimaginable power crackled through the galactic void, cutting a swath across the stellar realm as the cannon-world hurled the Galbadian machine toward a waiting nebula hundreds of light-years away. As if it had ingested a repulsive substance, the heavenly body exploded with even more violent cosmic energies, rejecting the unwanted intruder and sending it crashing back to the earth. A final death wince heralded the robot's climactic demise, culminated by a loud explosion that reduced it to scrap metal.

Deafening silence reclaimed its dominion amidst the subtle heaves of refreshing Galbadian air made by the exhausted SeeDs. Focused as ever, Quistis disturbed the permeating stillness to make contact with the Presidential Guard commander through her communicator.

"Captain Mockingbird. The hostages are secure. You can move in now." After which the SeeD allowed her fatigued body to slump on the concrete floor. "We are obviously out of shape. Never felt this tired in my whole life."

"Yo, speak for yourself, instructor. I feel fantastic! I always feel this way after a successful mission." Zell exclaimed while executing his usual shadow boxing routine.

"Yeah, I know what you mean, Zell." Rinoa seconded. "Sure feels good when you get to save people's lives, doesn't it?"

_Hidden in the darkness, the arcane mistress mused at her self-proclaimed enemies. _

_"Revel in your victory for as long as you can, damnable SeeDs." The concealed figure in crimson garb silently meditated. "Rejoice, and savor the moment, counting the last seconds of your precious existence in this puny world. For in saving the lives of those pathetic fools, you have just secured your personal places in hell."_


	3. Default Chapter Title

* * *

THE FOURTH UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 3

* * *

"Good morning, Mr. President. How are you doing today?"

"' Morning, Vlade. Well, you know me. Always peachy keen." A lively Laguna returned his Aide's greeting. "Oh, by the way, have you seen Kiros and Ward yet?"

"I don't believe I have, sir. However, General Caraway is already up. I believe he's waiting for you at the reception hall, sir."

"Ahh yes. I suppose he'll be glad when he learns about what happened in Deling City last night. Anyways, carry on Vlade."

"Yes sir. Have a nice day, your Excellency."

"Oh, and one more thing"

"Yes, sir?"

"Umm, like how do you think the Estharians will react if I propose to abolish the requirement of wearing those long gowns everyday? I mean, don't you find that outfit uncomfortable?"

The Aide flashed a wide grin. "Honestly, sir? I would love that. I've always wanted to try wearing something more groovy uhh, is that the right word, sir?"

"Heh, I believe the term you're looking for is preppy'." Laguna replied.

"What does that word mean, sir?"

"Beats the hell out of me, Vlade. Anyway, I'll see you around."

Laguna scratched his head. For the last week he had been convening with Galbadia's acting president in their effort to draw up a series of political and economic treatises that they believe will improve diplomatic ties between Galbadia and Esthar. Their conversations have been characterized as generally formal and direct. The two never really had the chance to engage in casual small talk.

Until now, that is. With the official summit nearing a successful conclusion, the only real reason General Caraway is still in Esthar is the isolated incident of mutiny back in Deling City, which the SeeDs he hired had successfully vanquished. Now, for the first time, he will be facing the Galbadian leader on easier terms. Laguna somewhat feels apprehensive with the prospect; the conversation just might wander toward a subject involving Julia. And he wondered, how would it feel for a man to face his deceased wife's former beau?

He paused just before entering the reception room.

"Ahh, what the heck. It's all in the past." Muttered the former Galbadian soldier before finally stepping in.

"Good morning, President Loire." A high-spirited General Caraway echoed.

"It couldn't be a more pleasant morning, General." Laguna responded with equal fervor. "Have you heard the news?"

"What? Oh yeah. Those impressive kids they got the job done" Caraway trailed off before falling into an apparent state of melancholy.

"Uhh, I was expecting you'd take the news in with more levity, General. Anything bothering you?"

"Oh, nothing. It's nothing, really except that"

Laguna hesitated. He had a pretty good idea why the general would display a less than affirmative reaction toward the good tidings. Those kids that Caraway referred to also happen to be the friends and comrades of his estranged daughter, Rinoa.

"I sure wish I can talk to her." Caraway suddenly followed up, to which Laguna effortlessly caught on.

"Why don't you try? I've met Rinoa, and she seems to be a really nice girl."

"Nice? Heh, that's an understatement. Rinoa is the epitome of ardor. She is passion AND compassion personified. I've never really met anyone who didn't immediately develop a liking for her." a beaming Caraway exclaimed. Laguna just smiled.

"And sadly, this same passion led to the road of severe misunderstanding between the two of us." The general furthered, referring to the falling away he had with Rinoa because of his former position as the late President Deling's right hand man. And he knows only too well how she detested the deceased Galbadian president's dictatorial policies, which led her to join Timber's resistance group, the Forest Owls, in the first place. 

"Ahh, enough about that." Caraway blurted out in an effort to change the subject. Laguna didn't utter a word out of respect for the Galbadian ruler's wish.

"President Loire, why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"That you were a Galbadian soldier. What command were you stationed in?"

"Uhh I used to be in the infantry. But I was transferred to the panzer division during the Timber occupation." Laguna softly answered.

"Oh, that explains it."

"Explain what?"

"Why you weren't able to return to Deling City eighteen years ago."

"Uh-oh, here we go." Laguna thought to himself.

"She was nearly devastated waiting for you to come back. And I felt so sorry for her." General Caraway said, drawing a concerned look from the Esthar president. Laguna opted to remain silent. For one of the very rare instances in his life, he found himself totally at a loss for words.

"I I'm sorry, President Loire, maybe we shouldn't be talking about this."

"Actually, I'm more concerned about you." Laguna replied with a forced smile on his lips. The two momentarily fell silent, not knowing what to say next. Then Laguna somehow found the strength to further the subject.

"So, were you two happy?"

"Well, I reckon we were. Especially after Rinoa was born. You know Julia is, all things considered, a very strong woman. It really didn't take that long for her to accept that you two weren't meant for each other."

"Yeah" was all Laguna could say. He was almost tempted to follow up with a remark about Raine, yet relented with a thought of how irrelevant it may turn out to be. Besides, it still pains him to remember. It's been more than eighteen years, and yet it still hurts to think about it.

"So how about you?" Caraway followed up. "You don't seem to be a guy likely to spend the rest of his life being alone. Have you well, you know"

Laguna knew a subject regarding Raine was inevitable. He had no choice but to brave the topic, choking down the sting as he replied to the general's innocent inquiry.

"Me? Oh yes, as a matter of fact, I have met someone. But she's gone now"

"Oh I'm sorry to heat that. But I guess that makes us truly two of a kind." General Caraway remarked, which evoked a questioning look from Laguna.

"Two pathetic, lonely widowers, that is." The two laughed resoundingly at the General's repartee.

"What's going on inside?" Kiros asked the Aide stationed by the door of the reception room, when he heard the loud guffaws emanating from inside it.

"President Laguna and General Caraway are in there. Why they're laughing? I don't know."

".." Ward gestured.

"What did he say?" the Aide returned a question to Kiros.

"Oh. Ward says he hopes they're not laughing at one of Laguna's jokes. Honestly, I hope so too. The last thing Galbadia needs right now is a leader with the same sense of humor as Laguna's."

* * *

Squall heaved a deep breath before stepping inside the Balamb Garden gala room. How long has it been since he last saw this place? Roughly a year ago, he estimated. Everyone was in a festive mood then after the six of them returned from the future and that life-and-death battle against Ultimecia. During that time, he still didn't feel like socializing with the other students, opting as usual to post himself by the entrance until he saw Rinoa walk toward the porch. Squall smiled in lieu of where his train of thought led him: that memorable moment when his lips met Rinoa's for the first time. It is perhaps one of the sweetest moments of his life.

He snappily brushed off some dust particles from the chest area of his SeeD uniform before proceeding inside. There, Squall immediately caught sight of Irvine, showing off his SeeD uniform to Selphie.

"Sefie, my beloved. Now, you can't possibly resist the new and more debonair me inside these dashing threads."

"Hmm, not bad, Irvy. But can you lose the ponytail? I don't think it goes well with the uniform."

"Heh, you'd have a much easier time telling me to fight ten Malboros instead."

Squall wandered his eyes some more, as if looking for someone. It didn't take long before his sight locked on to the stately figure of Rinoa, likewise wearing a SeeD uniform identical to the one garbing Quistis. Squall beamed, feeling immensely proud of the woman he loves as he just stood there staring at Rinoa, who was at that time engaged in a lively chat with Zell, Quistis, Cid and the woman whom they all fondly call Matron, the former sorceress Edea.

"Hey, Squall. How do I look?" a voice from behind broke the SeeD commander's trance. Behind him stood another newly appointed SeeD: Marcus Derlini, president of the Balamb Garden-wide Quistis Trepe fan club known as the Trepe Groupies, or Trepies for short.

"Hey Marcus. Congratulations." Squall greeted the instructor's most ardent supporter.

"Thanks man. And oh, have you by any chance seen Tom? I just wanna show off my uniform. You know, Tom and I had a bet. He always insisted that I'll never be a SeeD because I'm always too preoccupied thinking about Instructor Trepe. Heh heh, I wanna see the look in his face now when he fights that T-Rexaur in the monster's lair."

"Really. Well, just be careful, okay?" the head SeeD promptly replied before turning his back on Marcus.

Quistis suddenly fell silent when she saw Squall approaching. Knowing only too well what kind of scene will unfold once he and Rinoa got together, the long-suffering instructor chose to make herself scarce, not wanting to once more go through the perennial experience of having to watch the object of her affection cuddle up with another girl who also happened to be her friend.

"Headmaster, Matron, I just remembered something that I need to do. Please excuse me."

"Yo, Quisty. Where you off to?" Zell questioned his evasive comrade.

"Have to run an errand." Quistis shot back. "Zell, Rinoa, I'll see you later."

Half-questioning herself for what she thinks as a somewhat infantile behavior, Quistis hesitantly looked back at the gala room. But nevertheless decided to continue walking slowly along the quiet hall, all the while shaking her head in apparent disappointment. Although she had given up a long time ago on her fervent wish of having a more intimate relationship with the elusive Squall Leonhart, Quistis still can't seem to muster the strength to let go of her lingering feelings as well. If only she could meet someone who would somehow tear her hopeless affection away from her former student, Quistis thought. 

But the prospect of finding a man of her own seems somewhat remote, to say the least. Of course, men with promising characteristics abound in Balamb Garden. How many times has she received beautifully arranged bouquets of flowers in her room, or found romantic notes from some not-so-anonymous admirers, tucked inside her instructor's planner? But why hasn't anyone caught her fancy yet? Is it due to some subconscious albeit unreasonably high criteria that she holds? Or is it because no matter how hard she tries, she still can't help but use Squall as the ultimate yardstick in screening her hopeful admirers.

Unable to find answers to her nagging self-inquiries, the pretty instructor just sighed as she trained her gaze toward the emptied front hall of the Garden. Her eyes consequently caught sight of a solitary figure examining the Balamb Garden central directory. Quistis' eyebrows drew closer upon recognizing the individual as the man who fearlessly (or is it foolishly?) wrestled a T-Rexaur to submission at the training center two days ago. Curiosity getting the better of her, Quistis opted to approach the man, though unsure of what good her action could possibly accomplish.

"Hello." The instructor opened with a smile.

"Huh? On, uhh hi." The stranger shot back with a start. "I was just browsing through this board directory. This is really a pretty huge school you got here."

"Uh-huh uh say, I never got to thank you for coming to my aid last time. So thank you, I really appreciate it."

The man's face assumed a slight frown after hearing Quistis' expression of gratitude, which the perceptive SeeD didn't fail to notice. "Hey, did I say something wrong?"

He crossed his arms in front of his chest and took on a more formal stance, moving to face the comely SeeD squarely. "Perhaps you failed to comprehend. I didn't rescue you from the T-Rex. I rescued it from you and your trigger-happy friend."

"Oh, is that so." The instructor's voice faded, reminding herself that she's presently having a conversation with a resident of FH. And as such, he is expected to have a hostile attitude toward soldiers and mercenaries like her. Not that it didn't show, anyway, as Quistis easily took note of how adamant he pronounced the word trigger-happy',

"Perhaps you don't desire company." The dejected SeeD softly replied. "I'm sorry for having intruded on you. I'll be on my way now."

Despite his firm conviction that provides for a strong repugnance for anything that connotes armed conflict, the FH resident nevertheless felt a tinge of guilt for displaying such gross effrontery before Quistis. He may be an obstinate pacifist, the man thought. But he will not ever develop the habit of treating women the way he did, whether they be SeeDs, professional mercenaries or soldiers.

"I I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude." He called out to Quistis. "My name's Siegfried. Siegfried Waller. And you are..?"

Quistis turned around, and eyed Siegfried intently, apparently trying to perceive some sincerity in his sudden change of attitude. She then went back and offered her hand. "Mine's Quistis. Quistis Trepe. I'm a SeeD here in Balamb Garden."

"Yes, I'm quite aware of that." He replied. "So, I thought you're having a party. What are you doing here all by your lonesome?"

"Oh, I just felt like getting some fresh air. It's becoming a bit stifling in there." Quistis echoed, followed by an absent-minded grooming of her blonde hair. "How about you? I thought I saw some of your friends in there. Don't you wish to join them and have some fun?"

"I'm not the partying type." Siegfried shot back as he fidgeted visibly in front of Quistis. For some unknown reason, the FH technician felt an uncanny warmth setting over his face as he stared at Quistis' gentle and alluring visage. A feeling that suddenly gave him a fit of alien discomfort.

"Uhh, yes?" the instructor quipped when she noticed her conversant becoming speechless all of the sudden.

"What?"

"Is there something wrong with my face?" she smilingly followed up, half teasing the obviously beleaguered Siegfried. "You've been staring at me for the last ten seconds or so."

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I never meant to" he cracked, unable to finish his apology due to the sudden bout of embarrassment. "I I have to go and check on something."

Quistis clutched her mouth in an effort to keep herself from laughing at Siegfried. "Okay, I'm gonna call it a day as well. It's been nice talking to you, Siegfried." After which she turned her back on him and headed for the dormitory section.

"Quistis?"

"Yeah?"

"Will I be seeing you again?"

The instructor's eyes squinted as she tossed a gaze toward Siegfried. His face turned pale-white, reflecting tremendous anxiety, thinking that he might have said something wrong. But his fears just as quickly subsided when Quistis flashed a most enchanting smile.

"Of course you will. I live here, you know. Good night."

Siegfried didn't utter a single word and just stood there, staring at Quistis as she made her way down the circular pathway before turning left toward the dorm. He finally heaved a deep breath when she disappeared from his sight. Shaking his head, Siegfried smiled, half-appreciating the moment and yet half-scorning himself, realizing that this turn of event he allowed himself to be caught up with could easily escalate into a major conflict in his otherwise quiet and simplistic life.


	4. Default Chapter Title

* * *

THE FOURTH UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 4

* * *

"Quistis? You in there?"

"I'm in the shower. Give me a minute."

Squall crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, thumping his head softly against it as he waits for his comrade to open the door. It's taking an unusually long time for Quistis to finish getting ready, and the SeeD commander is starting to display an uncharacteristic trait of impatience. Over at the Garden's newly constructed hangar built to accommodate the Ragnarok, the other members of the party which consisted of Zell, Selphie, Irvine, Nida and Xu await the arrival of the SeeD chief and his recognized second-in-command.

Two days prior, eight SeeDs gathered together inside the library and drew up a plan for a surprise party in celebration of Cid and Edea Kramer's wedding anniversary. Among the things they agreed upon to make this occasion memorable for the two proponents of Garden is to get them an assortment of exotic flowers, with the knowledge of how much Edea loves them. With this, they agreed to go on a trip to Winhill, also known as the Flower Capital of the World.

Squall immediately pushed against the metal-polymer wall when he heard a subtle click from the door knob. Opening the door slowly, he quietly took a peep inside Quistis' room before ultimately proceeding in.

"So sorry for the delay, Squall. I had a bit of trouble trying to come up with an excuse just so Matron won't suspect anything with this trip." Quistis profusely apologized to her comrade, who at that time was actually oblivious to what she just said. Squall didn't exactly expect to be met by this particular sight of his former instructor: wearing nothing but a slightly moist bathrobe, her damp and tousled blonde hair flowing down the smooth contours of her lovely face and neck. Beads of water were still dripping from her golden locks, which occasionally spray on Squall's face whenever she makes an abrupt pivot in her effort to speedily prepare her clothes.

"What are you staring at?" she finally took notice of his blank expression.

"What? Oh, nothing. I'm just not used to seeing you that way with your hair hanging down like that"

"Really? Hmm, maybe I should lose the hairpin for a while" Quistis mused before turning back to Squall. "Um, would you mind staying outside? I'm not accustomed to having an audience while I'm dressing up."

"Oh! Sorry! No, not at all uhh, sorry." An embarrassed Squall stammered before rushing outside of the room. 

After the door closed, Quistis paused to consider what would have happened had she not told Squall to leave the room while she changed. Then, as if trying to knock some sense into her, she slapped her forehead hard, feeling ashamed of herself for the brief but less than wholesome thought that permeated her mind.

"You so bad, Quisty!" she echoed to herself.

* * *

The crimson-colored Ragnarok had already disappeared beyond the horizon, but Rinoa remained staring into the light-blue void from her favorite spot in the Garden's gala room porch. She really would have loved to join her friends, but decided against it in favor of something that she doesn't exactly know if she wants to do. Unwittingly, Rinoa caressed the platinum band wrapped around her right hand's ring finger; one with the engraving of a beast which represents both great strength and pride.

"There you are, Rinoa." A voice rang out from behind her. She turned to the sight of the dark-skinned Marcus Derlini. "Headmaster Cid sent me to find you. He said you have a visitor and that he's waiting at the quad."

"Okay, here we go" Rinoa muttered before acknowledging the messenger. "Thanks, Marcus. Please tell the Headmaster that I'll be right there."

* * *

"How these fools prance around with smug ease. How they wear their vaunted abilities like an infallible crown that can never be conquered."

Cursing swamp-green eyes trained its focus on a group of youngsters going about with their self-imposed chore for the day. The abominable owner of the verdant pupils then retreated, meditating deeply and plotting intently. He then clutched his putrid mouth in perceiving an unexpected wave of contagion.

"Blast it! I'm starting to spout senseless blabber like my mistress. Better watch it." Affixing his attention anew to his objective, the repulsive Ogre-Bat silently observed the youngsters going about their trade at the central area of this small and dainty town. 

"I didn't expect these pesky youths to be here today. Nevertheless, removing them shouldn't be any trouble."

"How many loads to go, Zell?" Xu's voice reverberated from a flower stand situated near the Winhill town quadrangle.

"How many friggin' loads are you planning to get anyway, Xu?" Zell shot back. "The Rag's cargo bay is so full of flowers the smell is already creeping through the cockpit. And I hate the smell of flowers!"

"You're friend had a bad childhood or something?" interrupted the flower vendor. "I've never known anyone who didn't like the aroma of my flowers."

"Ahh, don't mind him." Irvine retorted. "He's just trying to protect his macho image."

Across the paved open area at the other side of the quadrangle, Squall and Quistis were currently having a pleasant exchange with Winhill's governor, Zeilgr Markkon. Quistis momentarily glanced at her companions busily loading the Ragnarok with the fragrant blossoms.

"You seem like you're having lots of fun. That's good. I used to have friends like yours when I was your age." Echoed the lively Markkon, who was only too willing to entertain these SeeDs to whom he's indebted for helping him find the missing pieces of his treasured family heirloom.

"Oh, we've had our moments, sir." Quistis replied with equal gaiety. Just then, their light-hearted conversation was interrupted by a loud shriek emanating from the nearby pub. Squall didn't waste any time as he dashed towards the establishment formerly owned by a woman whom he suspects to be his real mother.

The head SeeD immediately drew his gunblade after barging into the old bar. Inside, he found a curly-topped old woman being terrorized by a huge Caterchipillar. "Please! Help me!" the old lady pleaded. "It wants to eat my flowers!"

"Stand back!" Squall yelled, before attacking the creature with twin bolts of Thundara. Stunned by the sudden assault, the overgrown larva reeled, then struck back at the SeeD by shooting a sticky thread-like substance from the lower tip of it's slimy body. Squall was instantly covered from head to toe by the milky-white substance. However, it wasn't nearly strong enough to contain the SeeD as the green, luminescent Lionheart easily cut its way through the sticky material.

"I really hate that trick." Squall mumbled while casting a searing Firaga spell on the enemy. The Caterchipillar seized and convulsed, then ceased moving altogether. He was just about to return his gunblade to its holster when he heard loud, disturbing noises from outside.

"Damn, what is it now?" the SeeD commander thought as he rushed outside. His eyes widened upon seeing his comrades engaged in battle with a huge and bulky, bat-like creature. The monster was spewing forth gross expletives together with powerful energy globes that scattered the usually alert warriors. "What the what is that thing?!?"

"Go ahead, SeeDs! Show me what you got!" Tengu taunted the youthful warriors as he relentlessly fired great orbs of destructive energy toward them. An embattled Nida tried to duck, but he was a little too late, as the explosive force of the energy globes sent him careening toward the spot where Squall stood. Both Squall and Nida crashed violently inside the bar, wrecking the wooden stairway handrails in the process.

"Uhh, you okay?" Nida asked the shaken up Squall as he slowly tried to pick himself up. Squall spent a few seconds to check himself for possible fractured bones before following suit.

"Nida, where did that monster come from?"

"I don't know. We were just about done with loading the flowers when it suddenly appeared and went after the flower vend"

Squall didn't wait for Nida to finish when he caught sight of Selphie who was about to be pummeled by the monster's massive weapon. 

"Selphie!" he cried out, coming up with a sudden burst of speed that enabled him to stick his gunblade between the menacing death rod and his embattled comrade. A loud clashing sound resonated as metal grinds against metal.

Mildly surprised, Tengu nevertheless quickly regained his composure. "Impressive. Not many can do that against my Demon Rod."

"What do you want, monster?" a tiger-eyed Squall hollered while brandishing his fearsome Lionheart before the hellish foe. "Who are you?" he furthered, as he was finally joined by his comrades.

"I am Tengu. The heartless. The fearsome harbinger of doom." The Ogre-Bat's infernal voice reverberated through the suddenly darkened Winhill surroundings. "And about what I want? Well let's just say its something that you can never keep from me. You are powerless to stop me, SeeDs!"

"Good." Zell blurted out. "I thought you were going to say that you'll send us to a dimension beyond our imagining and there we will be your slaves and yada yada yada."

"You insolent worm! Don't you know how to look at fear?!?" an enraged Tengu screamed. "THEN I WILL SHOW YOU FEAR!!!"

The startled SeeDs were too late to react to the Ogre-Bat's offensive, as they winced in pain when the vile demon monster unleashed his burning Fire Breath against them. All eight of them collapsed to the ground, shaking and bucking violently from the searing pain overwhelming their frail, human anatomy. The smell of burnt flesh filled the gruesome air amidst the infernal laughter of the baneful monstrosity.

"Hrrr pathetic, overrated weaklings." Tengu exclaimed with wicked revelry. However, his gleeful facial cast was instantly erased upon seeing Squall struggling to get up on his feet.

"Don't you know better than to stay down, fool? Now I shall have to end your life once and for all."

"You can try bastard!" The struggling warrior shot back. And before Tengu could do anything, he was taken aback when Squall started to emit bright flashes of light while extending the gunblade in front of him. Without warning, the infuriated SeeD ran toward Tengu and caught him totally off guard with a series of powerful blows of the dreaded Lionheart.

Battered and totally stunned by the SeeD's debilitating assault, Tengu felt his legs buckle. While trying vainly to stand his ground, his eyes once again widened at the sight of the wrathful Squall. Tucking the Lionheart to his right side, the SeeD commander again radiated with deadly power as he charged up his gunblade for the finishing blow. Tengu's blood ran cold with the cognizance that he is staring death itself at its face.

Suddenly, a cabalistic dark glow totally enveloped the besieged Ogre-Bat, swirling around him like a proverbial black whirlpool swallowing a helpless soul into oblivion. Squall stepped back, wary that he too might be pulled in by the caliginous maelstrom. When the spinning cloud cleared away, Tengu was nowhere to be found. And for that matter, so was the poor flower vendor.

Totally sapped of his strength, the exhausted SeeD fell on his knees. He allowed a few moments to pass before looking around at his fallen comrades. Moving his shaking hands to the side, Squall took hold of his travel pouch in hopes of finding something to help him revive his crew.

"Hhhh just enough Phoenix Downs"

* * *

Resplendent red glow filled the early evening skies while providing a spectacular back drop for the soaring Trabian sea gulls as they make their way south for the winter. He breathes deeply, savoring the crisp, fresh air gently caressing his slightly wrinkled face.

"No wonder you love it here." He voiced out, trying to hide the anxiety plaguing his mind for the last hour. "And old man like me can get used to this. Surely beats Galbadia's excessively humid weather."

A couple of yards behind him, a young lady sits uneasily on a brand new stone bench. She turned her head toward him, then promptly turned away again.

"I heard the technicians from FH will be leaving tomorrow. Guess that means they've finally completed Balamb Garden's restoration." He furthered. She remained silent.

Finally, an exasperated General Caraway released a disappointed groan. For the last ten minutes he had been trying in vain to start a conversation with the indifferent Rinoa. He was already nearing the end of his patience and wanted desperately to lash out at her, but chose instead to tread the arduous road of patience and understanding. She's still young, Caraway thought. And still upset. The last thing he needs right now is a fire-with-fire word war with his estranged daughter.

"I have news for you, Rinoa. Vinzer Deling is gone. He's been dead for over a year. Just thought you'd want to know." Caraway remarked with a mildly sarcastic tone. "Because frankly, I'm getting all incensed with this petty quarrel. What are you still mad about, anyway?"

Finally, Rinoa decided to respond to her father's appalled tone. "It's not that easy. You know how strongly I felt against Vinzer Deling's despotic rule, but you never listened to me. Why is that?" 

"But that was a long time ago, Rinoa. It's over, done with. Why can't you just let go of the past?" Caraway snapped back. "Besides, you were there. You saw how I plotted against him and the sorceress."

Rinoa tried to talk back, but for some reason she wasn't able to come up with an argument that feels right for her. The truth is, she knows she's been cornered. She knows that whatever statement she eventually comes up with will never be enough to vanquish the truth that her father's direct involvement in a scheme geared against the late Galbadian dictator's reign made her feel vindicated.

Unfortunately, too much damage had been inflicted by the long span of time they allowed to elapse. It's not a question anymore of whether the two of them would be able to settle their differences. That has already been decided on that fateful night when General Caraway gathered together with a team of SeeDs assigned to assassinate the then dreaded Sorceress Edea. The very issue that needs to be settled right now is whether or not Rinoa can muster the humility to completely turn herself around after a long period of time of intentionally turning her back on her father. And the way she feels right now, it's highly doubtful that the Galbadian general's obstinate daughter is finally ready for a reconciliation.

"I I'm sorry, dad. But I really don't think I'm ready for this just yet."

The father and daughter's sullen mood was interrupted when Rinoa's SeeD communicator started beeping frantically. "It's a Code Red signal. Something's up." She muttered while pressing the response button.

"Rinoa, it's Xu." Squall's voice resonated from the communicator. "Come to the infirmary at once."

"I'm on my way."

* * *

"Severe third degree burns." Dr. Kadowaki told the ten worried individuals waiting outside the Garden infirmary. "She'll recover from it eventually. But Xu will be bed-ridden for quite awhile."

"Dammit." Squall blurted out. "It's my fault. I didn't make sure that all of us were junctioned."

"Don't blame yourself, Squall." Edea's gentle voice echoed. "There's no way for you to know you'll be attacked by a monster like that in Winhill."

The SeeD commander didn't answer. Though Edea is right on the mark with her assessment, he still felt responsible for neglecting to give Xu one of the four GFs junctioned to him. She would at least have had a fighting chance at resisting Tengu's deadly attack.

"One thing's bothering me, though." Quistis intermitted. "That monster was speaking about the first of the three when he tried to seize the flower vendor. That's one. Secondly, what could a powerful creature like that possibly want from an unassuming small town girl?"

"Yeah, I also heard him say that." Selphie added. "What was his name? Ten-chu Tien-yu Ten-four..?"

"It's Tengu." Zell retorted. "In ancient lore, it's a name given to a mythological entity which the natives of Centra believe to be the embodiment of the Bat Spirit. Wanna know more?"

"Sure." Irvine agreed. "What do we have to lose?"

"Heh, okay. Mr. Know-It-All-Zell once again to the rescue! According to legends, a very long time ago there were three main forces duking it out for control of the planet. One of them is pretty much familiar especially to Rinoa and Matron. His or her – I can never remember its gender – name is Hyne, the demigod who supposedly started the lineage of the sorceresses. Hyne sought to protect creation while his OR her enemy, another omnipotent type called Vesta, sought to conquer it. The third force is Tengu, the mystical Bat Spirit who joined the fray for reasons unknown. Over time, Vesta and Tengu found it convenient to join forces because by their own, they're getting their asses kicked real good by Hyne."

"And then what?" Nida implored Zell to continue.

"That's it. I wasn't able to finish the book when I was recalled here in Garden for the SeeD field exam."

"Oh great!" Irvine snapped, slapping his temple with his forehand. "Sorry I asked."

"Hmm we could be on to something here." A contemplative Quistis remarked.

"I think so too." Cid concurred. "And if it's possible, we have to know more about the vendor girl this Tengu kidnapped. We need to know what it could possibly want from her."

* * *

"W-wh-what do you want from me? Who are you?" an extremely frightened young girl cowered in the dark corner of her barely lit prison. Hovering in front of her are two frightful figures with burning eyes and wide, evil grins. The hapless girl jerked when the smaller form started to let out a deep chortle.

"You amuse me, girl. Feigning great fear in order to hide the fact that you hold the power in your hands to stage a decent resistance. But then again, it would be more wise for you not to do so."

"Hrrr mistress, I think she's genuinely terrified of us." Tengu insisted, which drew an even more resounding guffaw from the crimson-clad woman.

"N no no! I won't do it! Please don't make me do it! I don't want to lose control again!" the flower vendor fearfully begged her baneful captors. "I will not fight you no"

"Fear not, my fragile-faced guest." The mistress shot back. "I will not force you into utilizing any more of your faculties than what is necessary. But you may have to pardon me if I help myself to more of it than what your frail spirit can endure."

For the flower vendor, what followed next in her ghastly ordeal is the fall of great darkness. Pitch black nothingness adulterated by nothing save the gruesome and eerie scream of a soul begging to be freed from its horrifyingly tortured existence.


	5. Default Chapter Title

* * *

THE FOURTH UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 5

* * *

"Sure is a beauty." Squall thought to himself. The great Esthar flagship Ragnarok had been under their custody for about a year now. And still, sheer admiration overcomes him whenever he pauses to take a good look at the enormous, fierce-looking spacecraft. Ethics used to urge him to return the Ragnarok to Esthar after they came back from Ultimecia's era. But admitting to himself that he had grown an attachment to the space shuttle that saved his and Rinoa's life, Squall instead decided to hold on to it, hoping that Esthar would cede their claim in light of their immeasurable contribution to the mission of preserving the sanctity of life.

A whiff of sweet fragrance drew the SeeD commander toward the slightly gaping hatch of the cargo bay, where he saw the flowers they hauled in from Winhill three days ago. He can't help but be amazed at the stubborn longevity of these otherwise delicate-looking blossoms. It had been a full three days since they purchased the flowers from the ill-fated vendor girl, but the picturesque melange of peach-red and bright yellow still look fresh as ever.

"Same as the multitude who now see you as a hero, these refreshing blossoms likewise owe you their very lives."

"Who who was that?" Squall looked around to locate the source of the hollow utterance.

"Look up." The voice once again resonated, to which Squall complied. Stretching his neck up, the amazed SeeD gasped upon catching sight of the sparking, golden-yellow figure of the winged Guardian Force, Quezacotl. He can hardly believe his eyes. He has known from experience that these selfless entities would stop at nothing to protect and serve the humans to which they're junctioned. But he has never known or even heard of one actually starting a conversation.

"Of course, with a little help from your floating friends."

"Great!" Squall exclaimed in his mind. Not only is this GF initiating a tete-a-tete, with him, he's even trying to crack a joke. A counter-thought permeated to his inquisitive mind as Squall wondered if Quezacotl is really a he' or a she'.

"That depends on however it is you perceive me, Squall."

"Uhh excuse me?" Squall finally voiced out. "What do you mean?"

"You're trying to figure out if I'm a male or a female. And like I said, it all depends on your perception."

Just perfect! Aside from the fact that this GF can talk and spew out witty repartees, he can also read Squall's mind! 

"How how did you know what I was thinking?"

"Listen, Squall. You are aware that I make my permanent dwelling inside one of the folds in your tumultuous cerebellum. The fact that I can read your mind shouldn't come as a surprise to you." Quezacotl's resonating words came back, eliciting a more intense sense of awe from the mesmerized SeeD.

"Okay Quezacotl" Squall replied, trying his best to grasp the unusual situation besetting him. "I really don't feel at ease knowing that you know everything that's running in my mind. But do you think you could, like, not read it? I kind of value my privacy a great deal."

"Hey, you're wish is my command." The GF mockingly shot back. "So, do you wish to talk?"

"You're the one who came out of nowhere to bug me" Squall retorted mentally, reluctant to display a rude attitude toward the creature who in countless times had provided invaluable aid to himself and his crew in the battlefield. But then, the fact that the fabled servitor-entity appeared in front of him without being summoned brought the pensive SeeD to a nagging urge to find out why.

"Uhh, I used to think that you GFs can only manifest yourselves when called upon in battle. So what are you doing here?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm not quite sure myself." The faceless yet awe-inspiring GF returned. "A number of bizarre things have been taking place within the borders of the dimensional interval. But no one can put a finger on it. Not even that joker, Gilgamesh."

"Joker? How did he become a joker?"

"In a word, Squall: Excalipoor. He really needs to be taught the proper way to act in a crucial battle."

"Oh yeah. Right." Squall trailed off, recalling the time when Gilgamesh's fearsome form appeared in the midst of their clash against Omega Weapon, only to attack it with that aforementioned sorry excuse for a sword.

"Anyway, while I'm here, might as well make the most of it by entertaining any questions you might have. So"

Squall bowed his head in brief contemplation, then once again looked up to his loyal GF. "Can you tell me if Laguna is my real father?"

"Uhh, Squall, that's a little out of my league, you know."

"Oh, okay." the slightly disappointed SeeD echoed while subconsciously nibbling on his Griever ring.

"Why don't you ask me about Griever? I perceived your hesitation while we were battling him in the future. You seemed like a confused toddler reluctantly fighting against someone you look up to as a role model."

Quezacotl is right, Squall remarked to himself. Even as a young boy, he had always looked up to the legendary lion beast for his honorable renown as a symbol of great strength and pride two traits he viciously tried to personify in his effort to fight the lingering loneliness brought about by Ellone's sudden disappearance. It was then perhaps one of the most frustrating experiences in his life to have to fight the very entity he tried to mold himself after. Squall never felt as remorseful in combat as he did while watching Griever writhe in death-inducing pain.

"Okay what happened? Guardian Forces are supposed to be benevolent spirits dedicated to serving the cause of good. Why did Griever subject himself to Ultimecia's whims?"

"You only say that because you've never encountered others outside of myself, Bahamut, Shiva, and the rest." Quezacotl snapped back. "But in a way, you are correct. Though she was able to utilize his character junction abilities, Fujin was never successful in calling upon Pandemona's power in battle. And so was the once despicable woman you call Matron, who had Alexander in her bonds. That's also why it became so easy for you and your friends to snatch them away from their malevolent junctioners."

"And don't forget Siren and Carbuncle. And Eden, the one we drew from Ultima Weapon." Squall added.

"Monster don't exactly know how to summon GFs like us, Squall." The Thunder Guardian explained. "We are far superior to ordinary creatures in almost every aspect, especially in the area of intelligence. Some of our kind just thought it convenient in the direction of privacy to conceal ourselves within the unsuspecting forms of some monsters."

"Oh, okay."

"And as far as Eden is concerned You weren't listening to Zell's explanation, were you?" Quezacotl further countered. "Eden may be the most powerful GF ever to have existed. But it is an artificial GF, whose questionable essence was merely synthesized by the intruding hands of overly ambitious humans. It is not one of us. And to tell you the truth, there is something about that factitious entity that causes uncanny dread among our ranks."

"And Griever..?" the SeeD commander reiterated.

"Griever as complex an entity as he is mighty" Quezacotl's voice toned down. "Griever is... was the greatest of our kind. A being spawned not by the natural forces ruling this universe, but rather by the innate greatness of man's courage and inner strength. But however pains me to say this, I suppose it is true that absolute power corrupts all but the purest of spirit..."

Squall silently bowed his head in morose acknowledgment of the GF's statement. Much as he hates to accept it, Quezacotl was right. Such is the sad truth of exposure to the epidemic depravity of absolute power.

"Squall, are you here?" Rinoa's voice echoed from beyond the hangar.

"I better disappear for now. Let's talk again later when we get the chance."

"Wait, Quezacotl. Don't you want Rinoa to see you, too?"

"Not now, Squall." The Guardian Force retorted. "I still have to find out what caused this most unusual occurrence that made our congregation possible."

Squall was still staring at the hangar roof when the immensely charming Rinoa arrived.

"Squall, we've been looking all over for you."

"Hi, Rinoa. What's going on?" Squall greeted her with a gentle peck on the lips.

"We now have something on the abducted flower vendor. And the others are already in the Strategy Room. Let's go."

* * *

Siegfried Waller snuggled inside his maroon coat when a chilly breeze blew past him. Downside, the quiet waters of fabled Obel Lake rippled under the persuasive influence of the soft wind. Slowly, he bent down to pick up a smooth and flat granite stone, which he hurled toward the water in a sharp angle. It bounced on the liquid surface five times before ultimately deciding to take a plunge.

"Come on, Jerry. I don't have all day." He muttered with a slight trace of impatience in his voice.

A dark shadow then emerged from the water and turned its asymmetric silhouette toward the waiting chap. "Hello. Quite a lovely day, isn't it." the form echoed a merry greeting.

Siegfried didn't answer, and instead lowered his exhausted body to sit with crossed legs on top of the soft and mildly dewy grass. He had just arrived from a long foot trek from Fisherman's Horizon, and opted to proceed to the soothing lake spot even before checking on the small farm he has been maintaining for the last two years. His face reeked with the look of sullen perplexity.

"Ahh, a woman, I reckon." The intrusive shadow insisted. "And who might this incredibly affecting girl be to have made such a huge dent in your otherwise steel-coated heart?"

The FH technician tossed a blank look at the substance-bereft form, not even half-surprised of its ready awareness to the conflict racing through his confused mind.

"Her name's Quistis." Siegfried mumbled.

"Quistis? You're not talking about the exquisite Quistis Trepe, are you?"

"You know her?" he quizzically responded.

"Uh-huh. I had a run in with her and some of her friends a while back. Nice folks, those kids are. They helped me locate my lost friend." The form, who goes by the name of Jeremiah, replied. "And frankly, I don't blame you a bit. I had a pretty good look at her heart last we met. That girl is just as beautiful inside as she is on the outside. You'd be mighty lucky to have her for a mate."

"Yeah, I wish." Siegfried contemptuously shot back, which evoked a concerned reaction from Jeremiah.

"What's wrong, chum? Don't you have confidence in yourself?"

"It's not that, Jerry." He retorted. "She's a SeeD. A mercenary. Someone who makes a living by fighting. I couldn't possibly dwell with someone like that."

"Your intentions speak well, venerable peace-lover. But your balance is sorely lacking. In time, it will only inflict unspeakable pain in your heart if you don't find a way to a satisfactory compromise."

"Compromise is for the weak and foolish." The FH resident firmly answered. "Teacher Dobe taught me that. He said anything short of absolute pacifism is not acceptable. Meeting halfway will only result in doubling the problems that need to be resolved."

"And not meeting at all will not create problems." Jeremiah countered. "It will create tragedies. And tragedies, unlike problems, can never be resolved." 

Siegfried didn't answer. Whether he liked it or not, he knows that his Cimmerian confidante had just presented an argument beyond his capacity to formulate a rebuttal against. Jeremiah drew closer when the bewildered man bowed his head.

"Siegfried, I can read you like an open book. Things like this may not have happened to all people, but it did to a lot of people. Sometimes, we can't explain the mysteries involved in being hopelessly enchanted to what appears to be the wrong person for no apparent reason. But then reasons have a nasty habit of revealing themselves much later. For now, we just have to entrust ourselves to fate. And if it is fate, we always have the consoling hope that it will reveal itself as such when the right time comes."

"I I cannot live that way can never cede my belief for anything. I'm a pacifist. She's a warrior. We're two completely opposite people each belonging to eternally conflicting ideologies."

"Siegfried, when will you ever learn that pacifism is not manifested by what people do or don't do. It is proven by what they feel, and why they do whatever it is they do." The shadow counseled his friend. "The purity of the heart still far outweighs the most explicit display of outward righteousness. I hope I have at least taught you that much."

"And I likewise hope that you're right, Jerry." Siegfried smilingly snapped back. "Because you know? She's different. Really, really different. I've never met anyone quite like her."

* * *

Aside from being the most spirited student in Balamb Garden when it comes to extra-curricular activities, Selphie is also known as the best computer prodigy in her age group, as exhibited by the exhaustingly detailed network database she set up to make her Garden Festival committee more accessible to others outside of the Garden populace. Likewise, Selphie has always had the habit of collecting bits of seemingly irrelevant data about people and places they've encountered during their past adventures. The compilation of Laguna's articles from all those back issues of Timber Maniacs was only a small fragment of her personal database. 

Eventually, she started creating an architecture that included the processing of general data of such personalities as Mayor Dobe of FH, the three card key-carrying students of what used to be Galbadia Garden, that bumbling soldier stationed at the communications tower in Dollet, the self-styled Triple Triad Card Queen, the retired Galbadian officer Biggs and his sidekick Wedge, and others. Her meticulous data gathering habit didn't spare even the insignificant junk shop proprietor in Timber and that flower vendor in Winhill. 

As of current, the last-mentioned individual is their main focus of concern. Providing whatever data she had of the flower girl to Nida, who was tasked to perform an intrinsic background check, they finally came up with what appeared to be the single most solid reason why anyone would be interested in such an insignificant character as that vendor girl. Everybody expressed various forms of exasperation after Nida and Selphie broke the news.

"Oh geez, not again!" A flustered Irvine rested his head against the hardwood surface of the Balamb Garden Strategy Room's oval table.

"Run that by us again, Selphie. I don't think I heard that right." Zell irritatingly blurted out, unsure if he wanted to accept the apparent predicament they now face.

"I think you did, Zell. Mina Ranziel, our small town flower vendor, is really a sorceress."

"And you think this is the reason why that Tengu creep went after her, is that it?" Quistis calmly echoed.

"What else could there be?" Nida retorted. "I mean, look at this. She's a twenty-seven year old single woman. Never been engaged, never known to be involved with anyone. Born in a middle-class family in Dollet. Her father lost his job, after which they went bankrupt and were forced to relocate to Winhill, where she grew up with an older sister who was among those taken by Esthar soldiers when they were looking for a successor for Adel. And then well, that's it. For all points and purposes, she's the epitome of a simple girl leading a simple life, Of course, being a sorceress aside."

Rinoa maintained a stoic look in her face to hide the terror slowly creeping into her heart. Secretly, her hand met Squall's under the oval table, and clasped together with it tightly. Squall, on the other hand was silently expressing his gratitude that Rinoa's father, General Caraway, chose the day they went to Winhill to drop by Balamb Garden for a visit. He shuddered at the possibility of what might have happened had Rinoa gone along with them on that day.

"But he spoke of the first of three'. If the first is Mina Ranziel, and I think it's safe to assume that Rinoa's the second, then who's the third?" Headmaster Cid butted in.

"Uhh you wouldn't believe this. After we learned that Mina's a sorceress, Nida and I tried to run an exhaustive check based on convergent probabilities and my own personal hunch." Selphie promptly responded. "Um ahh the third' target is the Card Queen."

"Are you sure about this?" Cid blurted out. "We can't afford any mistakes here, Selphie."

"Actually, Headmaster, I think Selphie's right." Squall finally joined the discussion. "There's gotta be something supernatural with the way the Card Queen led us to a wild goose chase around the world. Her method nearly borders that of the occult. And her Triple Triad skills is way too impeccable to be considered normal."

"And we all know how good Squall and Quistis are with cards." Zell followed up.

"Okay," the Headmaster sighed. "I still say there's a slight chance of us being wrong about the Card Queen. Nevertheless, I want you guys to check on her just to be sure. Do you know where she is right now?"

"She's currently leading some bonehead on another crazy Card Queen quest last we heard. Just this morning, Marcus called from Timber to tell us that she just checked in the hotel there." Nida replied.

Their meeting was interrupted anew when a short-haired girl wearing a SeeD uniform suddenly barged inside the Strategy Room. 

"Oh, sorry, so sorry. But I have urgent news, Headmaster." The messenger SeeD frantically exclaimed. "We've received an emergency message from Marcus Derlini in Timber. He said the Tengu monster suddenly appeared and is attacking Timber Hotel at this very moment! The Galbadian soldiers are trying their best to contain the situation but" 

The SeeD was stopped in mid-statement when the crew stood up and hurriedly ran toward the door. Just before entering the wide gate leading to the hangar, Squall abruptly stopped and turned to Rinoa and Selphie.

"Rinoa. Just stay here. I don't want to take any chances."

"Squall, no. I want to stay by your side." Rinoa pleaded, but Squall turned a deaf ear on her.

"Selphie, stay here with Rinoa and the others. And transfer all your junctions to Nida."

"Got it." Selphie snappily complied.

"Squall let me go with you!"

Squall eyed Rinoa most lovingly, then spent one second to kiss her before finally rushing off to board the Ragnarok together with Quistis, Zell, Irvine and Nida.

* * *

"Arrgghh!!! Do we have to go this fast?!?" a tormented Zell hollered while watching the Ragnarok's gauge register speeds in excess of 10,600 miles per hour.

"Unhh..! Faster, Zell! We have to get there before Tengu gets away!" Squall laboriously replied. Right behind him, Quistis, Irvine and Nida were showing similar signs of speed stress as they're bodies pressed hard against the cushioned seats, all of them feeling as if an immense weight was being applied on them.

It took the Ragnarok barely minutes to reach Timber. Down below, the hapless Galbadian soldiers were being scattered like rats by the unrelenting attacks of the cruel Ogre-Bat. Tengu was just about to crush a poor sergeant into oblivion when he suddenly winced in pain, as the deafening roar of the Ragnarok in a super-speed flyby assaulted his ears.

"Arrhhhh! The worms have arrived!" a furious Tengu screamed while watching the Estharian flag ship come around for another approach. Arrogantly standing his ground, the Ogre-Bat was nevertheless startled when a pair of metallic claws grabbed him, plunging the pointed tips of its mechanical fingers deep into each of his shoulders.

"NYAARRGGHHHH!!! RELEASE ME, YOU DAMNED SEEDS!!!" Tengu cried out from rage and immense pain while the Ragnarok carried him aloft.

"Let's drop him somewhere with no people." Squall directed Zell. Just as they were passing over Mandy Beach, the martial artist SeeD pressed the release button of the mechanized claws, dropping Tengu face-first on the sandy ground below.

The Ogre-Bat barely got up on his feet when the high-tech spacecraft once again sped toward him, wantonly unleashing destructive machine gun and phasor cannon fire. Embattled and confused by the relentless barrage, Tengu can do nothing but fold his immense wings around his grotesque form for protection. Just when the Ragnarok flew by, the seething Ogre-Bat extended the crackling Demon Rod and aimed it straight toward his adversaries.

"FEEL THE WRATH OF VENGEFUL POWER!!!" 

Tremendous energies then spewed forth from Tengu's bizarre weapon and slashed a lightning path across the air, connecting solidly on the Ragnarok's main thrusters. Absorbing a direct hit, the crimson spaceship subsequently lost control and started to plunge headlong toward a nearby railroad tunnel.

"Zell! I said abandon ship!!!" Squall frenziedly yelled to Zell, who was refusing to leave his position behind the control stick.

"NO!" Zell shouted back. "I've got to save the Rag!!!" Mustering a final surge of strength, the unyielding warrior tugged at the stick with all his might. "AAAHHHHHH!!! CLIMB! CLIMB YOU STUBBORN BASTARD!!!"

And as if some deity took heed of the adamant SeeD's pleas, the Ragnarok's nose suddenly jerked up moments before hitting the grassy terrain. The craft hit the ground belly-first at an acute angle before being dragged by its own momentum for a few hundred yards, finally coming to a halt when it plunged into a nearby forest. 

"Guys unh talk to me" Squall laboriously spoke out while trying to unbuckle himself from the battered co-pilot seat.

"Ohhh friggin' headache" Zell's tortured voice echoed from the background. It was followed by Quistis' equally labored confirmation.

"I'm quite alright I think."

"Irvine..? Nida..?"

"Here but my body hurts like hell!" the gun-wielding SeeD slowly responded.

"Oh man, no roller coasters for me from now one" Nida followed.

Relieved after seeing that everyone survived, Squall's momentary respite was nevertheless interrupted when he looked out the shattered windshield of the Ragnarok.

"We're not out of the woods yet." The head SeeD warned upon setting eyes on the grisly form of an approaching Ogre-Bat. "Let's take care of this creep once and for all."

"I'm impressed, SeeDs. You're a lot tougher than I thought." Tengu exclaimed. Right in front of him, five hurting but battle-ready warriors stand with unwavering resolve. 

Blood trickled freely from Quistis' forehead, but she seemed oblivious to this as she took the initiative and landed a terrible blow on the Ogre-Bat's face with her fearsome whip. Green fluid oozed from the long gash on Tengu's face.

"That's it." the frightful Ogre-Bat declared. "You have just signed your own death warrants." But before he can attack, Irvine lashed out with a Flare attack of his own. Non-elemental hellfire consumed the enemy as it exploded with white-hot fury and blinding resplendence. Tengu was taken aback by the unexpected assault, then shrugged it off as if it was nothing.

"Is that the best you can do, adversaries?" the demon-spawn taunted the surprised SeeDs. "Like I told you before, you are powerless to stop me."

"Pour it on, team!" Squall rallied his gallant crew while attacking Tengu with an earth-shaking Ultima spell. The rest of the team quickly followed suit with a flurry of Firaga, Holy, Blizzaga, Tornado and Quake spells. Tengu didn't even seem fazed by their relentless assaults, brushing his body with his clawed appendages in a gesture of total defiance.

"Demi!" Squall hollered. A collapsing black orb instantaneously formed around the disdainful Ogre-Bat, folding the space around his gruesome body and inflicting massive damage in the process. Tengu reeled back, visibly shaken by the gravity-based magic. A vicious smile formed on Zell's lips when he realized the monster's weakness.

"Yo, ugly. Do you now realize the gravity' of your situation?" the SeeD mockingly blurted out while preparing to summon his Guardian Force. "DIABLOS!"

At the utterance of forbidden power, the skies grew dark, accompanied by a sinister stench beckoning the appearance of the darkest GF. Taking the black atmosphere as a cue, hundreds of screeching bats formed an ominous globe of pitch-black substance, out of which the devilish figure of the fear-inspiring Diablos descended, spreading his dark wings in assuming a symbol of hellish splendor.

The SeeDs waited for the darkest Guardian Force to energize the black sphere hovering above him. But he never did. To their utter surprise, Diablos abandoned his familiar stance, and instead descended further down to squarely face the eagerly waiting Tengu.

"I have waited eons for this moment, hated foe." The Ogre-Bat's deep and raspy voice resonated. Diablos just stood in front of him, unspeaking and utterly still.

But the shadowy mind of the arcane servitor spirit is racing, past the time when history began to be recorded. He recalled the last time he laid his grisly eyes on the prisoner, the miscreant to whom his master and creator entrusted him with safekeeping. A flurry of resonating, hollow voices came back to his ears, words of spite, spoken ages ago, and yet heard as if the utterance was mere moments back. Threats that, at the time, Diablos considered empty and benign owing to the confidence on his power's adequacy in holding the shackles against his master's aggressor. 

A tinge of regret was spawned inside the Guardian's mind. He had believed Tengu to be dormant after millennia of imprisonment within the folds of the crushing force the Ogre-Bat so feared. And now, the malevolent entity is free. Whether it be out of a prowess that escaped his awareness or through the aid of an outside force, Diablos didn't care. Once again, after millions of years, he's got a job to do. One that as before, he will perform with cold and silent efficiency.

A method that is in sharp contrast to the Ogre-Bat's animated slant.

"Still the mute Diablos that I remember." Tengu furthered. "But no matter. Words are of no essence. Only DEATH!" Without warning, Tengu fired pulsating waves of macabre energy from his Demon Rod. Time seemed to stand still as the crackling energy hurled toward the waiting GF.

Diablos, unfazed, simply raised his right hand at the hurtling death beam. A field of raven-hued gravity distortion force then formed around the Guardian's red-black form, protecting him from the Demon Rod's blast by curving space around him to divert his enemy's attack. Tengu's eyes widened in disbelief upon witnessing how easily Diablos fended off his assault.

"As before, you have failed to understand the rule, Tengu." Diablos finally spoke out with a reverberating pitch that seems to emanate from a deep pit. "I am power. And you are nothing." 

With that, the GF unleashed a debilitating Gravija spell that pummeled the hapless Ogre-Bat. Tengu's agony was indescribable, manifested only by his unearthly cries and the gruesome seizures that took hold of his pain-stricken body. Helpless and hurting, the pitiful Ogre-Bat frantically begged for mercy as he kneeled in front of his superior adversary.

"No no more pain please"

The SeeDs watching at the sidelines cheered ecstatically as their mighty ally effortlessly vanquished the threat of their nihilistic enemy. Then suddenly, a powerful silver bolt shot out from nowhere and struck the unsuspecting Diablos. A gruesome scream bellowed from the Guardian's obscured mouth and tore through the darkened skies.

"AAAYYYYEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII" Diablos helplessly cried out. Squall and his crew witnessed in horror as their Guardian ally winced and convulsed in great agony. And before they could do something to help the embattled servitor-entity, their horror multiplied ten-fold at the sight of Diablos slowly being disintegrated by the deadly beam of light. It didn't take long before the unspeakable onslaught totally consumed the Guardian Force.

"One coward has fallen. Who wants to be next?" a sinister female voice echoed from the background. The grief-stricken SeeDs quickly turned to the sight of the mistress, the lady in red who commands the hideous Ogre-Bat.

"Vesta" Squall muttered, his teeth gnashing hard against each other out of the immense horror of seeing the demise of his ally.

"I don't believe I've had the pleasure, young pretender." Vesta defiantly retorted. "Oh, are you mad because of what I did to your precious pet? Then consider this an exercise in restraint, impulsive one. Diablos won't be the last."

"You will die for this, witch." Quistis firmly uttered, displaying uncharacteristic rage as she bore into the baneful Vesta with sharp eyes burning with pure indignation.

Without warning, the five SeeDs suddenly felt a strange weakening sensation befalling their beings.

"Ugh! What is this?!?" Irvine blurted out when he felt an acute loss of strength in his spirit. The rest of the crew subsequently discovered the cause of the disabling sensation: all the GFs junctioned to them suddenly disengaged to assume solid forms. One by one they emerged, from Quezacotl to Leviathan, Pandemona to Cactuar. Each of them possessed of a hatred stemming from having to witness one of their kind being regressed to nothingness. Displaying oneness of purpose, the fifteen Guardian Forces surrounded Vesta, who didn't even appear half-alarmed by this unexpected turn of events.

Then a chilling realization dawned on Squall when he saw Vesta's unfazed demeanor. "No No! This is exactly what Vesta wants to happen!!! QUEZACOTL! CERBERUS! BAHAMUT! ALL OF YOU, GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!"

But the SeeD commander's ill-timed cognizance proved to be for naught, as it was too late to warn the unsuspecting GFs. Without warning, the same silver sparks exploded from the vile woman's being and engulfed the Guardian Forces with its inescapable fury. Tears of mixed grief, rage and helplessness flowed down the sweaty faces of the stunned SeeDs as their eyes were forced to witness the gruesome demise of the beings who had been their allies for most of their struggles.

One by one, their manifestations scattered. Quezacotl, Shiva, Ifrit, Siren, Sacred, Minotaur, Carbuncle, Leviathan, Pandemona, Cerberus, Alexander, Doomtrain, Bahamut, Tonberry, and Cactuar. 

Consumed by white fire, devoured by anti-essence. 

Until finally, there was nothing.


	6. Default Chapter Title

* * *

THE FOURTH UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 6

* * *

__

"It's not your fault, Squall."

"No, that's not true. You're my responsibility."

"It's not your fault, Squall."

"It is my fault!"

"It's not your fault, Squall."

"I shouldn't have summoned you. I should have fought my own fight."

"Is that why you told me to stay in Garden?"

"Huh..?"

"Is that why you left me behind? I'm your responsibility?"

"Quezacotl?"

"Who's Quezacotl?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm the one you left behind Garden."

"You're"

"Why, Squall? Is it because you wanted to protect me?"

"Yes, I"

"Or because you just plain don't trust me."

"No you know that's not"

"But, I still love you in spite of that. I guess I will always love you, Squall."

""

"I will always love you."

" Rinoa"

"??? Who's Rinoa???"

"WHAT! Aren't you..?"

"I'm going to marry you, Squall?

"WHO ARE YOU?!? WHERE'S RINOA?!? RINOA!!!"

Profusely sweating under his white shirt, Squall Leonhart screamed to the top of his lungs. He groped for something to hold on to, something to affix himself on to fight the vertigo sensation of plunging down a deep ravine. 

Then he felt soft, gentle hands pulling his head tenderly against warm shoulders. He gasped and labored for precious gulps of air in his effort to somehow enable himself break free from the nauseating disorientation.

"What's going on here?"

"Everything's fine, Selphie. Squall is just having a bad dream." Rinoa assured her friend while holding her lover close to her. "How about the others?"

"Quistis is already up." Selphie replied. "Irvine and Zell seem to be okay according to Dr. Kadowaki."

"And Nida?"

"Nida" Selphie trailed off. "He doesn't look too good."

Their anxious exchange was cut short when Balamb Garden's resident physician joined them inside the thatched cottage. Thirty-six hours ago, Headmaster Cid informed Rinoa and Selphie that the SeeDs dispatched to confront Tengu in Timber were found unconscious along the sandy coast of Mandy Beach. Wasting no time, the pair immediately commandeered a SeeD personnel carrier vessel similar to those used in the Dollet assault more than a year ago. It took them half a day just to traverse the wide expanse of ocean between Balamb and Timber country, and another few hours of car ride from the town of Timber to an isolated farm located in a remote region adjacent to Obel Lake. The owner of the farm, a certain Siegfried Waller, met the two young ladies, who thanked him later on for finding and taking care of their comrades.

Dr. Kadowaki arrived a few hours ago together with Headmaster Cid and his wife, Edea. The subsequent arrival of the five consequently expedited the recovery process for the injured SeeDs. And shortly after, Squall, Zell and Irvine sat alongside each other along the wooden platform fronting Siegfried's main cabin. Staring blankly into the vast, green surroundings, the three young men sulked in sullen recollection of the last things they saw before being introduced to darkness.

"That's it. It's over." Irvine mumbled almost inaudibly.

"What?" Zell exclaimed when he made out what his downhearted comrade whispered. "What do you mean It's over'?"

"It's over. We're done for. Can't you understand English? We're through."

"Man, I can't believe you've given up. What is wrong with you? Just because we lost our GFs doesn't mean we have to quit fighting."

"How much would it take to drum it into your thick skull, Zell? Without our GFs, we're fish food. The only thing we'll ever be good at is fighting a small platoon of incompetent Galbadian cadets!"

"Geez, I can't freakin' believe you!" Zell stood up to directly face Irvine. He was about to spew out a series of inflamed comments when Squall butted in.

"Irvine's right. Without the GFs, we're no match against the likes of Vesta." The head SeeD remarked. "She'll roll over us like so much amateurs." 

Zell didn't respond and instead simply lowered his head in defeat. Much as he wanted to insist the contrary, his comrades are right. If they want to have a semblance of a chance against the evil death-bringer, they need the assistance of Guardian Forces.

"Isn't there any way for us to revive them? I think we still have a coupl'a G-Returners left."

"I'm afraid it's not possible, Zell." Squall wearily disagreed. "Unlike in past instances, they weren't junctioned to us when Vesta killed them." 

"Yeah. Besides, without the GF abilities, all of our items are no more useful than a couple of paper weights or key chains." Irvine furthered.

"Oh man this just friggin' sucks!"

Squall didn't answer. Looking around, he saw a faint vision of two distant figures occupying a spot by the lake. He recognized one of the two as their generous albeit social graces-deficient host, Siegfried. However, he had some difficulty trying to make out the identity of the woman keeping the farm owner company. 

Taking a few steps closer, Squall was mildly surprised to recognize Quistis, with her hair hanging down again. He doesn't exactly understand why, but while watching the two immerse themselves in what seemed to be a sprightly conversation, the SeeD commander's reaction became replete with negative feelings and bad vibes. He does not approve of what he sees.

"Heh, thought she only had eyes for you, huh." A less disheartened Zell approached from behind. "Quisty having the hots for you, I understand. But for this guy I need to have a talk with instructor."

"Shut up!" Squall snapped at Zell before walking away.

"What did I say?"

* * *

"First it's Xu. Now, Nida." A tired-looking Dr. Kadowaki uttered. Edea slowly approached the beleaguered physician and rested a sympathetic hand on her shoulders. "I don't know what do to anymore. This is way beyond my league now."

The comely-faced woman whom the youngsters fondly call Matron then turned her attention to the equally puzzled Rinoa. "Did you do what I told you to do, dear?"

"Yes, Matron." Rinoa replied. "But I sensed nothing, other than Nida's badly bruised spirit. But at least I know that he's definitely lost his junction like Squall and the others."

"Just as I thought." Edea murmured with a look of deep thought. "The others lost their junctions when their GFs intentionally disconnected. But in Nida's case, it's different. That explains why he's in a state of severe catalepsy."

"What do you mean, Matron?"

"It's like this, Selphie. Imagine a wound dressing made of very sticky bandage. How would it feel if you suddenly yank the bandage off the skin?"

"Ooo, that's gotta hurt." A grimacing Selphie reacted. "So how can we help Nida?"

"Hopefully, he just needs some time to rest. If this turns out worse than it is, we can always touch bases with Dr. Odine in Esthar. I'm confident he can easily treat Nida's condition."

"So what you're saying, Edea," Cid started, "is Nida's spirit was injured when the GF junctioned to him was forcibly taken away. Is that it?" Edea nodded her head in sad concurrence.

"Super-duper-mega-bummer! That means we don't have any GF left."

"This is very bad. I wonder what Squall's planning to do about this." Rinoa thought aloud. "How can we fight Vesta without our powers?"

"You'll do what any wise and prudent warrior will, Rinoa." The Headmaster responded. "Find another way."

* * *

Walking ever slowly as if counting his own stride, the concerned SeeD commander gradually made his way to where his comrade was engaged in a lively talk with their host. Strangely enough, the two seemed to be oblivious of his approach, which provided for an even more perturbed disposition in him. Coming within audible proximity, Squall feigned an itchy throat to get their attention.

"Oh, hi Squall. How long have you been standing there?" Quistis reacted. Squall didn't know if she's merely being sarcastic or she really was too engrossed with Siegfried to notice his arrival. It all the more added to his agitation. "We're just having a little talk here."

"No shit." Squall snapped back, throwing a somewhat sharp side-glance toward Siegfried. "I would hate to cut your afternoon short, but we do have more important things to discuss."

"Oh okay. You don't mind if Sieg sticks around, do you?" the former instructor requested, which all the more puzzled the head SeeD. Sieg'? Since when did Quistis start abbreviating anyone's name? And more importantly, she should know better than to allow an outsider to listen in when they start talking about SeeD matters. What's gotten into her? 

Squall tried to resist the urge to tell him off, fearing that it might send the wrong signal to the two. Instead, he just gave Quistis a deliberate stare to send her the message that business is business. Siegfried easily caught on to his unspoken requisite.

"That's fine, Quisty. I'll be right here if you need me."

Quisty'? Squall's right eyebrow elevated slightly. There's definitely something fishy going on here.

"So, what's up, Squall?"

"What do you mean what's up'? You know our current predicament."

"I I know. What I meant to say is, what are we going to do now?" a blushing Quistis, slightly embarrassed for her absent-minded quip, returned.

"Well, first thing's first. Now that we don't have our GFs, we must find another way to combat Vesta's threat."

"GF? Did you say you need a GF?" A mysterious voice echoed, startling the two SeeDs. Simultaneously turning around to the source of the intruding voice, Squall and Quistis became mildly puzzled upon setting eyes on the familiar dark shadow inhabiting Obel Lake. "I'm a GF."

"You're a GF?" the SeeD commander exclaimed to the caliginous form whom he recognized as the one who once asked them for help in finding a certain elusive primate. "Why didn't you tell us that before?"

"Because he's with me." Siegfried interrupted as he walked back to join them. "That's one Guardian Force that no one can get his hands on." 

The pacifist's remark consequently evoked a questioning look from the pretty instructor. "He's with you? Wait a minute, I thought you didn't believe in fighting." Quistis vehemently interrogated, to which Siegfried never gave an answer, opting instead to introduce them to his shadowy friend.

"His name's Jeremiah. And I reckon you've met him before."

Unmindful of their host's comment, Squall turned once again to Jeremiah. "If that's the case, then we need your help."

"You don't waste any time, do you?" the Guardian Force shot back. "I'd love to offer you my aid. But like Siegfried said, I'm with him. Unlike other GFs you know, I'm one who cannot switch junctioners. It seems I'm eternally connected to his spirit."

"How's that possible?" Quistis interrupted.

"Haven't the slightest. It's always been this way since the first time I junctioned myself to him. I still remember how this egotistical mook tried to resist my help even though he's about to be ripped apart by a pack of Grendels. But over time, I guess you can say I sort of grew on him."

"A GF that voluntarily offers his help. Fascinating." Quistis pondered. Since her days as a young Garden cadet, the crack SeeD operative has never encountered a servitor spirit who did the same thing. Either she would draw one from a monster she fought, or she'd fight the GF itself, much like how she and Squall battled to acquire the fire-elemental, Ifrit. Of course, there were a few exceptions. Like Doomtrain, who likewise willfully offered his alliance to them. But that was after they had to undergo the grueling task of fighting Wendigos, Malboros, and spending a stretch of time in that infernal place ironically known as the Island Closest to Heaven.

Unfortunately, Jeremiah is somehow permanently fused in spirit to Siegfried. So that means borrowing' him is out of the question. And that means there is only one way for them to secure the aid of this Guardian Force: they must try to get Siegfried to join their group. 

But would he do it? She knows him to possess this incorrigible adherence to the extremist principle of pacifism, which means trying to convince him to convene with a bunch of mercenaries would be next to impossible. She can't begin to understand why, but Quistis felt a tinge of disappointment with that last part of her chain of thoughts.

"But don't lose heart, young warriors." Jeremiah once again spoke out. "I am not the only one left."

"What?" Squall exclaimed. "You mean there are more?"

"What do you expect? Your ill-fated allies are not the only Guardian Forces inhabiting this world, you know. Though most are not as mighty as the ones you once wielded, the fragments of Hyne's power have multiplied in scores. All you have to do is know where to look."

"Huh? What do you mean fragments of Hyne's power'?" Squall quizzically shot back.

"You really don't know diddly-squat, do you?" Jeremiah exclaimed with a more casual tone. "Guardian Forces are nothing more than independent pieces of the once omnipotent Hyne's great powers. They are, in a manner of speaking, free-floating immortal energies unconstrained by the restrictive embodiment of the sorceresses. Throughout the centuries, these energies evolved into pseudo-sentient entities while assuming either elemental or non-elemental forms. The ones whom you called allies, they just happen to be the strongest of them all. But like I said, there are a myriad of others still out there. Most are insignificant, but some do wield considerable might."

"But how come we never encountered anyone else aside from the ones we had?" Quistis interjected. "Have you any idea of the arduous quest we had to endure to find these GFs?"

"That's because of your timing." The shadow continued. "For most of the time, these Guardians find abode in an ethereal realm beyond the confines of space-time. It is known in your language as the dimensional interval. Occasionally, they assume tangible forms in random locations in the physical world. The only exception of which are the two Brothers, Sacred and Minotaur. They seem to have developed a liking for the worldly essence and more or less became permanent fixtures in the physical plane. Didn't you notice their accents?"

"Oh yeah I once heard Gilgamesh mentioning the dimensional interval." The instructor remarked. "But why is it called that way? I may be thinking a little bit recklessly here, but the fact that it's called the dimensional interval' kinda suggests, at least for me, that it serves as a separator between planes of existence. But please forgive me if the idea sounds ridiculous."

"No, not at all, my astute friend. You want in on a little secret?"

"Sure."

"The dimensional interval does serve as a blanket between dimensions, at least according to the other Guardians. I've never had first-hand experience on these other planes myself owing to my dedication to Siegfried, but it seems ever since they first evolved from Hyne's essence, some of my colleagues have been moonlighting in other worlds as well. Though it appears that the methods of their operation in these other dimensions differ greatly from this one. For example, I once overheard His Majesty, King Bahamut arguing with the fearsome Odin why he had to diverge his participation in between this world and one that used some sort of substance for the purpose of summoning them."

"What do you mean diverge'?

"Odin's method of operation differed between the planes. Here, he merely appears whenever he wishes to. Back in a neighboring dimension, the warriors who wield his alliance can summon him at will, albeit with limited frequency."

"Fascinating" Quistis muttered. 

"Wait a minute" Squall then interrupted. "Let's go back to the issue at hand. You mentioned immortal, Jeremiah. Do you mean the cannot-be-killed type of immortal?"

"Yes. When possessed of Hyne's power, the sorceresses become immortal. That's why if they wish to meet true peace in death, they have to give up their powers first. In the case of Guardian Forces, we are ourselves Hyne's power. And immortality is as innate to us as heat is to fire. With the exception of two counterfeits, all Guardian Forces cannot be permanently killed. I know of nothing in this universe that can exact true death to a GF."

"Then what happened to our Guardians?" Squall anxiously followed up. "How was Vesta able to kill them?"

"That, my stalwart SeeDs, is a puzzle unto itself. And I'm afraid I don't have the answer to that question."

"Okay, one last question, Jeremiah. Where can we find these GFs?"

"Use your instinct, SeeD leader. Use the faculties granted you to fulfill your destiny. I can tell you what you want to know, but it would be better for you to prove your mettle by finding them yourself."

"Oh, great!" the head SeeD remarked. "Another test of strength."

"One you're bound to fail in your current, powerless states." Jeremiah added. "Whether you like it or not, you will need help to survive this task."

"I realize that." Quistis shot out while simultaneously training her gaze to Siegfried, who consequently turned his back on the female warrior. Tossing a brief glance at Squall as if asking for some privacy, Quistis then went after the indifferent FH resident.

"I guess I don't need to tell you just how much we need your help, Sieg."

"And what makes you think I have what it takes to help you?"

"Please don't take me for a fool, Siegfried. You junction a GF. You protect this farm single-handedly against predators. I mean what else do you want me to say just to prove to myself that you can fight?"

He paused, not knowing what to say in light of the opposing forces viciously clashing to dominate his conviction. And when Siegfried spoke, his voice cracked, reeking with uncertainty and devoid of the firm resolve it used to brandish. 

"I can't fight. I'm a"

"You're a pacifist, I know." Quistis snapped back with an evidently incensed tone. "A narrow-minded, short-sighted pacifist whose self-aggrandizing idiosyncrasy is surpassed only by your deliberately-inflicted blindness. Dammit, Siegfried! Can't you see that our enemy threatens to erase this peace' that you value so much? Then what? To whom will you then preach your precious principle' when everybody's already dead?!?"

In a fit of mixed agitation and disappointment, the SeeD scampered off, and continued running until she disappeared from his sight. Though he wanted so badly to run after Quistis, Siegfried was so overcome by shame that all he could do was look at Jeremiah with guilt-riddled eyes.

"Siegfried" Jeremiah softly remarked as he began to sink back into the lake. "Don't ever say I didn't warn you."

* * *

"Fascinating little grunt, isn't he?"

"Quite a choice of word there. Little grunt'? If this creature happens to be free, he can burn you to a crisp as easily as taking a deep breath."

"Bah! I can squash this idiot like a bug!"

Vesta nearly exploded in rambunctious laughter after hearing Tengu's boastful remark. "You never fail to amuse me with your indiscriminate braggadocio, Tengu. Squash him like a bug? Have you forgotten that you nearly got your head handed to you by Diablos?"

Totally humiliated, the Ogre-Bat now bearing a scar on his hideous face didn't utter a word. Deep inside, he resented the fact that his mistress had to rescue him from the wrath of an admittedly far more superior adversary. Though he knows he should be thankful, his towering ego is insulating him from any semblance of gratitude. But he dared not express his inner bitterness for fear of the malevolent Vesta's disdain.

"Such mighty spirits." The mistress quipped while shuffling a small yet lucent tetrahedron between her fingers. "And now, so powerless. Isn't omnipotence sweet, Tengu?"

"If you will excuse me for my ignorance, mistress, I thought you just need the elementals and the counterfeit GF. So why didn't you kill this Bahamut together with the rest?"

Vesta's contemptuous glare followed that of his unsightly servant's, toward the Guardian Force renowned for his legendary might. "Bahamut has always been a fascination for me. His name has been passed down across generations. His power ignores any and all kinds of defense. He will make a fine pet who will adorn my soon-to-be divine front trusses."

"You can only dream, doomed witch." The reputed king of all Guardian Forces defiantly shot back. "When I get out of this prison, I will revel at the sight of your smoldering carcass. And I will savor the aroma of your burning flesh."

"Ha ha ha! Such pride! Such majestic grandeur! You will make a fine addition to my personal guard, Bahamut."

The allusion of Vesta's intent at turning him into her slave was more than the sovereign Guardian's pride can endure. Coupled with the demise of some of his constituents and his perception of the others' degrading incarceration, the insult consequently brought Bahamut to the brink of blind rage.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THE OTHER GUARDIANS?!?" Bahamut screamed with such fury that it almost made Tengu cower with fear. "WHERE ARE THEY?!?"

"Why, you highness," the witch retorted tauntingly. "control your temper. You and your pitiful subjects tried to attack me, so I can do no less. How was I to know that your vaunted Guardian Forces can be so easily dispatched by a mere Light Pillar?" A taunting remark that she followed with a reverberating guffaw meant to further affront the furious dragon lord.

Unable to express his immeasurable rage with words, Bahamut opted to cease his outburst, as he channeled his wrath to visualizing the most excruciating ways of making Vesta suffer for her transgression. Noticing how the GF abruptly fell silent, Vesta once again turned her attention to Tengu.

"It's time, hideous one. As soon as you're done licking your wounds, we go for the third. And after that, the portals."

"Uh I don't mean to interrupt your plans, mistress. But how can you think of going for the third target after we had just failed to secure the second?"

Vesta's glowing eyes squinted with amusement.

"Oh? What ever gave you the idea that we failed?"

* * *

He never thought he'd find a need for it again. Looking back, Siegfried grimaced after recalling how the immense power of this ancient relic mercilessly took the life of a defenseless Anacondaur. Though the snake monster did violate his borders, he knows it was only reacting to its instinctive urge for survival. From that point on, the reclusive Siegfried vowed never again to use the potency of this weapon against a living being.

But now, for the choice of the lesser evil and the favor of one woman, he is about to break his solemn oath. Flashing a wry smile, Siegfried attempted to comprehend how a mere girl, and a mercenary for that matter, could take him to the brink of forsaking the very precept he holds sacred. Closing his eyes, he pictured in his mind the disarming visage of the alluring Quistis Trepe, and shook his head in mixed dismay and amazement.

"Women, you are indeed the cause of every man's downfall."

"So, you're the one who now wields the might of the Soul Hunter."

Startled, Siegfried abruptly turned to the sight of Edea Kramer, the erstwhile enigmatic sorceress who now serves as the SeeDs' co-advisor.

"I apologize for intruding on to you like this." Edea followed up. "But it seems the uncanny compulsion I've been feeling ever since arriving here is not without good reason. I trust that you know how to control its incredible powers."

Siegfried stared intently at the elder woman's gentle face. He's not sure why, but he felt a sudden wave of calm in the midst of her presence.

"In retrospect, my lady, I truly wish I didn't have to use this elemental staff again. But I'm afraid that is not to be the case."

"Then you'll help us." Edea half-inquisitively remarked, to which Siegfried responded with a deep breath before finally lifting himself up.

"I guess it is fate. So what can I do to help?"


	7. Default Chapter Title

* * *

THE FOURTH UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 7

* * *

The air felt offensively cold, aggravated by the damp and seemingly ice-covered floor viciously biting at her unprotected skin. Mustering just enough strength to open her eyes, the pathetic figure of Mina Ranziel, small town flower vendor and now helpless prisoner of her unknown assailants, tried to accustom her vision in the dark and squalid chamber, whose only source of illumination is a thin ray of moonlight seeping though a small, rectangular opening on the wall, meant to allow stale yet life-giving air to feed her tortured lungs. Resting her head back to the chilly concrete, Mina had no recourse but to weep silently out of despair.

No, not despair.

Rage.

Pure, unadulterated, soul-consuming rage.

If she really wanted to, Mina thought, she could call upon great powers to at the very least free herself from this dismal hellhole she currently languishes in. She can summon innate mystical energies to generate infernal fires hot enough to burn down the wooden door, or freeze the wall opposite her and subsequently have it shattered into a million pieces. If she really wanted to. And she desperately wanted to.

But no, Mina dared not. Haunting memories of gruesome events a dozen months past began to plague her psyche like some vindictive specter intent on depriving her of peace. More than a year ago, a slightly younger Mina pondered on the thought of finally using her sorceress powers, if only to provide fascinating entertainment for herself and her childhood friend. Curiosity got the better of sound judgment and led her to conjure her very first Blizzara spell against a budding and unmindful Funguar. As the ice began to form, so did some alien consciousness deep inside her defenseless spirit. Mina tried to eject the foreign entity trying to possess her, but to no avail. 

A wall of darkness momentarily consumed her, followed by visions of stars, a great crimson pillar extending from the moon, and an exploding lunar space station. When she came to, Mina Ranziel threw up after gazing with horrified eyes at the sight of her friend: her body totally still while lying on top of a barren soil patch; her skin pale white, mouth ajar, and eyes wide open with deathly terror written on its lifeless pupils. The deceased girl's neck bore deep scratch marks together with a gaping cut that apparently emptied her body of its blood. 

Terrified by the frightful sight, Mina subsequently noticed her two hands: one whose fingers show signs of caked blood inside the fingernails, and the other clutching a blood-soaked knife, the same knife she normally uses for pruning her flowery plants.

Her trauma was so immense she spent the next six months listlessly staring at the grayish wall of her small room. She would have spent the rest of her life in a state of incurable catatonia, if not for the aid of a homeless Shaman who informed the townspeople of Winhill of a certain malevolent sorceress from the future. A conscience-devoid witch, whose spirit travels back through time to possess the consciousness of present sorceresses and make them do ghastly deeds against their will.

Vindicated and declared innocent, Mina since tried to move on with her uneventful life. The ghosts still occasionally come back to haunt her, but not so maliciously. In her mind, these visions are merely reminders of the horrific end-result should she attempt to activate her angel wings again. No matter what happens, no matter how much she suffers, she vowed never again to invoke her forbidden powers.

But now, she asked herself: is her freedom not enough reason to break her vow? Is preserving her own life not worthwhile enough to risk losing control of her faculties once more? As she sullenly stared at the feeble source of light, Mina's eyes became tear-soaked once again. An answer was not in any way forthcoming.

* * *

"There it is. Let's come in for a closer look." Squall directed Selphie, who cautiously proceeded to maneuver the slightly unstable Ragnarok above a star-shaped break in the icy terrain of Bika Snowfield. It took them an unusually long time to fly from Timber to Trabia, taking extra care lest the newly repaired spacecraft starts to manifest signs of damage that the skillful hands of the FH repair crew might have overlooked.

"Are you sure about this, Squall?" Rinoa asked her beau while clutching on his arms.

"Well, it's a long shot. But I've always been curious about the strange energy signature we detected before in this crater. Let's call it a hunch." He replied, before going back to Selphie. "You think it's safe to land the Rag beside it?"

"No problem." She retorted while skillfully bringing the Ragnarok to a soft landing. "Hey Squall, you think we have time to drop by Trabia Garden after we're done here?"

"Let's talk about it later, Selphie."

The automated stairway hummed steadily while extending itself on the snowy ground. One by one, the party members emerged from the underside of the spacecraft amidst the eerily whistling sound made by the frigid winds. Squall promptly took off his heavy parka to put it on the shivering Rinoa, who's not really accustomed to exceptionally cold weather.

"Damn it's cold!" Zell exclaimed, rubbing his exposed forearms briskly with his gloved hands. "Hey Irvine, can I borrow your coat for awhile?"

"Here." The gunslinger quipped while handing Zell his spare overcoat. "Why didn't you bring a cold suit like the rest of us?"

"Pipe down, you two." Quistis warned the pair. "I don't feel like running into a Snowlion right now, so let's try not to attract attention."

"Whoa! Where going down THERE?!?" Selphie blurted out when the party reached the rim of the star-shaped crater. "It looks sooo deep! I can't even see the bottom from here."

Squall didn't answer, and instead leapt boldly on top of a ledge approximately twenty feet below them. Deeming it stable enough, he then looked up to his crew. "Let's go!"

Thankful that the sinking terrain wasn't as steep as they expected, the team of seven cautiously descended the ever-darkening ravine, their minds and eyes fully alert for whatever obstacles they might encounter. Fortunately, the long descent turned out to be quite uneventful, with the exception of a few roaming Bug Bites that were easily neutralized by Rinoa's Shooting Star and Irvine's Exeter. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the stalwart seven reached the bottom of the crater. The air felt ominously heavy, and Squall thought it best to be prepared, drawing his Lionheart aloft which served as the crew's only light source.

"I have a very baaad feeling about this." Selphie murmured, as if prophetically, when her dreading quip was followed by foreboding footsteps which seemed to be approaching their way.

"Do you hear that?" an equally apprehensive Irvine exclaimed, turning around to the source of the noise. They almost simultaneously reeled back upon catching sight of a pair of sharp, burning slits staring back at them. Feeling their hairs standing on ends, the party subsequently became fear-stricken when the smoldering pair of eyes began to draw even closer to them.

"IT'S BEEN AWHILE, SELPHIE." The menacing figure exclaimed as it revealed its wolf-like form. "WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE TO MY DARK DOMAIN?"

"Hey, I remember you" Selphie retorted, recalling an event in her twelfth year when after single-handedly defeating a Blue Dragon, she inadvertently fused spirits with a servitor entity that served as her Guardian Force for a short period of time. "You're the first GF I junctioned! Uhh what's your name again?"

I CAN SEE THAT YOU'VE BEEN AFFLICTED WITH THE SAD TRADE-OFF OF THE POWER JUNCTION." The canine entity snapped back. "I AM LOBO. AND I ASK AGAIN: WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE TO MY ABODE?"

"We're in dire straits." Squall boldly went forward. "And we desperately need your help."

"YOU'RE NOT THE FIRST MORTALS TO HAVE COME FOR MY ALLIANCE." Lobo returned, pausing for a short while before continuing. "VERY WELL, LET'S SEE IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE THE LAST. YOU ALREADY KNOW THE DRILL, INTREPID ONES. PREPARE FOR COMBAT."

"Whoa, whoa! Hold on a sec!" Irvine blurted out. "I thought you're with Selphie before. Why do we still have to fight you?"

"I HAVE SEEN SELPHIE'S PROWESS, AND HAVE NOT A DOUBT OF HER ABILITIES. BUT AS FOR THE REST OF YOU, I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU." 

With that, Lobo cut loose with a preemptive attack in the form of a Meltdown blast that connected on Squall. The head SeeD got knocked down by the forceful assault, and consequently felt a brittle sensation overwhelming his body – as if it will readily shatter with a single, well-placed blow from the enemy. Seeing his plight, Quistis immediately directed Siegfried to treat their squad leader with an Esuna spell, while an enraged Rinoa instantly retaliated with a Shooting Star blow that hit Lobo squarely on the jaw. The others immediately followed suit, attacking the GF one after the other. Zell's assault particularly stunned Lobo when the martial artist's gloved fists connected with a solid upper cut on his chin. Staggering back, the GF shook his head in a mixture of pain and delightful disbelief.

"IMPRESSIVE! EVEN WITH MERE PHYSICAL ATTACKS, YOU ACTUALLY MANAGED TO HURT ME." Lobo hissed, to which a confident Zell arrogantly replied.

"Yeah? Well there's more where it came from, doggie."

"IS THAT A FACT? ALRIGHT, LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN STAND YOUR GROUND AGAINST THIS!!!" the GF howled, followed by a swift Meteor spell that relentlessly pummeled the seven warriors with mystically conjured metallic rocks plummeting down from the heavens. The powerless SeeDs were tossed about by the assault, particularly Rinoa when an unusually oversized boulder sent her frail body crashing against the hard surface of a nearby slate bed, knocking her unconscious.

Squall, horrified at the sight of his battered partner, turned a hateful stare on Lobo. He charged headlong toward the Guardian, unmindful of his own safety and thinking nothing but retribution as the Lionheart began a deathly descent towards the wolf creature's head. However, fury turned to trepidation when Squall's otherwise formidable weapon was instead caught by Lobo's mouth. Trying vainly to pull it out of the beast's tight grip, the SeeD commander instead found himself flying in the air after Lobo hurled both him and the gunblade away. Landing with a loud thud beside Rinoa, Squall winced in pain while struggling to stay conscious. The rest of them frenziedly stepped back after what happened to their leader, totally baffled and at a loss for what they should do next, cursing for not having their powers to aid them in this battle.

"HRGH, IS THAT ALL YOU GOT? COME ON, DON'T TAKE IT SO EASY ON ME." Lobo taunted. 

However, his smug attitude was interrupted by loud rumbling noises coming from above him. And before he could react, Lobo suddenly found himself being pounded by tons of earth and snow when an unnatural landslide discharged its fury on him. In a matter of seconds, the vicious Guardian Force became buried under the avalanche.

"Sorry, Lobo. Really don't wanna do that" Siegfried mumbled while psychically tuning down the energy level of his mystical battle rod, the Soul Hunter, which conjured the Ice Avalanche. Quistis just stared at Siegfried, not knowing what to think about the awesome power displayed by his weapon.

But just as quickly as it ended, the battle restarted anew with a loud explosion that scattered the mass of icy earth trapping the wolf beast. The party gazed in timorous awe as Lobo, his body smoldering with power, extricated himself from his less than capable prison.

"THAT'S A NEAT TRICK, MORTAL." The GF snarled. "BUT THIS ONE IS EVEN BETTER!" Drawing a deep breath reminiscent of a Grendel, Lobo unleashed his Wolf Cry, a debilitating Breath attack that sprayed deadly, white-hot plasma from his fang-studded mouth on the startled warriors. Unimaginable torment engulfed their beings and brought the SeeDs to a convulsing fit of pain as the hot plasma overwhelmed them with its scalding touch. Only their iron-willed resolves enabled them to stand their ground in the midst of the excruciating ordeal. Lobo tried to hide it, but he was definitely held in wonder by his opponents' resilience.

Not about ready to give up, Siegfried threw away all caution out the window in coming up with his counter-attack. "Acid Rain!" he yelled, which was followed by the unexpected appearance of yellowish-black clouds in the atmosphere. 

Within seconds, the warriors became cloaked with protective intangibility as a lethal torrent of acid and water poured its rage on the GF, hitting him with his main weakness: Poison. Lobo cried out of immense pain, his tormented howls echoing almost to the outer rims of the Trabian continent and disturbed even the quiet town of the Shumi people. After the downpour, the GF lay dazed and weakened, appearing to be ripe for conquest.

"Give up, Lobo?" Selphie gently asked her erstwhile ally. Lobo didn't utter a word, and instead strove to hoist himself up on his four paws. "Lobo, please give up."

"Polaris." The wolf creature muttered.

"Now what kind of white flag statement is th" Irvine was stopped dead upon beholding another creature taking form right beside Lobo. Brandishing a less flashy appearance than his conjurer, the Guardian Force known as Polaris nevertheless screams unmitigated might with his jet-black, shiny body which appear to have been carved from a proverbial black diamond. 

There is no mouth from whence speech might emanate, not that Polaris really needed to say anything to begin his attack. Without warning, the four remaining SeeDs and the pacifist-warrior started feeling another wave of pain overwhelming them. But this time, the torturous ordeal seems to be coming from inside their bodies, as their blood vessels were twisted indiscriminately by Polaris' invisible magnetic powers by taking control of the microscopic iron molecules in their blood. They were just about ready to pass out from the pain when the onslaught ceased. Unbeknownst to them, it was Lobo himself who instructed Polaris to stop. In the midst of the weakened SeeDs' quivering forms, the two GFs stepped forward.

"I WOULD ADVISE YOU TO CUT YOUR LOSSES AND TURN BACK. YOU ARE NOT READY FOR US." 

Unsteadily, Quistis stood up and fearlessly faced the two Guardians. Her curt utterance was more than enough to send a message to the pair that surrender is simply not included in her vocabulary.

"Shockwave Pulsar."

Two radiant white orbs and one exploding energy pillar later, both Lobo and Polaris staggered back, stunned and severely hurt by the headstrong SeeD's incapacitating desperation attack. With both parties now exhausted, it was only a matter of time before the victor of this grueling battle gets decided. Still holding the stamina advantage, the two Guardians consequently beat the SeeDs to the next move. Lobo once again unloaded his deadly Wolf Cry that pummeled the warriors with white-hot fury. Though this time, Polaris followed it up with a magnetic stream of his own to take control of the hot plasma. The frigid surroundings was subsequently filled by the anguished cries of the pain-stricken warriors when Lobo's atomic fluid, being maneuvered by Polaris' magnetic field, repeatedly assaulted their weakened bodies.

"Sieg fried" Squall laboriously called out. "Use Holy" The weak Siegfried just looked at Squall blankly, unsure of what he wanted to say. The SeeD leader then poured all his might in one desperate roar.

"Holy War!!!"

With shaking hands nearly impossible to control, Siegfried reached into the SeeD pouch for the life-saving item and, with tremendous effort, tossed the diminutive flask into the air, which then shattered by itself and sprayed the SeeDs with invincibility-granting fluid. Lobo and Polaris ceased their onslaught after recognizing it an exercise in futility, as Squall and his crew once again roused themselves for one final wave.

Unable to strike back, the GF pair recoiled in helplessness as they were bombarded by a flurry of double Ultimas, Ray-Bombs, Blasting Zones and Pulse Ammos. The battle closed with a hyped up Zell smashing his fist against the burning ground, delivering a catastrophic tremor that split the terrain apart from where erupting flames unleashed their red-hot ire against the two Guardians. 

The smoke cleared to reveal Lobo and Polaris, both unmoving while intently staring at their conquerors. The former then broke the permeating silence between them.

"YOU CHEATED."

"We do whatever it takes to win." An exhausted Squall shot back. "And we don't have time to observe petty combat ethics. Lives are at stake."

Lobo stepped closer to the resolute warrior and gazed straight into his eyes, each of them as if measuring the firmness of their convictions. Stepping back alongside Polaris, Lobo let out a growling snicker before speaking out once more.

"THOUGH YOUR METHODS ARE SOMEWHAT SUSPECT, YOUR INTENTIONS ARE, NEVERTHELESS, NOBLE." The wolf beast echoed. "VERY WELL, YOUNG WARRIORS. OUR ALLEGIANCE IS YOURS."

* * *

The sun has just submerged back into the reddening horizon, basking the partially restored main building of the once bustling Trabia Garden with heartwarming crimson splendor. The students who survived and stayed behind to rebuild their cherished school are in high spirits. It's been more than a year now since the day of that lethal missile attack from Galbadia that destroyed the greater part of this Garden and murdered nearly half of its population. Much repair job is left to be done, but the compound is fast looking more like its old surroundings with each passing day. Thanks in part to a small contingent of FH engineers who have been generously sparing their time and expertise to lead the restoration efforts. When Selphie witnessed the extent of the improvement to her beloved Alma Mater, her eyes instantly welled up in heartfelt joy. This is perhaps the first time that Irvine saw her genuinely happy, and he can't help but share in her profound gladness.

The team of seven was warmly welcomed by their Trabian counterparts and instantly offered a warm and hearty meal. After supper, Squall, in displaying his old, pre-Time Compression self, decided against joining the Welcome Back, Selphie!' festivities and instead proceeded to the makeshift yet warm quarters their fellow students graciously prepared for them. He hasn't stayed for more than two hours inside his room when Rinoa arrived.

"Hey, what are you doing here alone?"

Rinoa's smiling face proved to be just what the doctor ordered for the exhausted and downhearted Squall. Feeling a momentary surge of strength, he quickly lifted himself from the feather bed and reached out for her hand. Rinoa responded by playfully jumping on to Squall's lap as they assumed a position reminiscent of the time in outer space when they assumed control of the awe-inspiring Ragnarok.

"What's going on outside?" Squall softly asked Rinoa.

"Oh, nothing much." Rinoa muttered, leaning her head on Squall's shoulders. "Zell and Irvine trying to outdo each other in dancing, while Selphie's patronizing them by playing referee."

"Oh, so that explains the noise." He remarked. "What about Quistis?"

"Quistis? Haven't seen her around since after dinner. Actually, I dropped by her room before coming over here. And she's not there either." Rinoa replied, evoking a brief pause from her lover.

"And Siegfried?"

"Likewise, not even a shadow." Rinoa then noticed the sullen look that befell Squall's face, which provoked her to voice out an out-of-place question. "Those two must be hanging out somewhere together Hey, are you jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous?!?" a defensive SeeD commander shot back.

"You're jealous because you never expected Quistis to actually hang out with another guy. Admit it, Squall!" Rinoa exclaimed, more of jokingly teasing her lover than anything else. His face assumed an even darker shade than before.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm just messing with you." she echoed with a grin. Rinoa's demeanor then straightened with a more thoughtful question of her own. "But seriously, do you think there's something going on between those two? Not that I object, okay. But they really don't look that good together."

"None of my business."

"Oh geez. There you go again. And just when I thought I'd never hear those words from you anymore"

Squall didn't utter a word of response, and instead gently pulled Rinoa's face towards his, smothering her with a passionate yet tender kiss that expressed the entirety of just how much he cared for her. Not a few moments elapsed before the two broke off their emotional communion.

"Squall, I I love you. I love you so much."

"And I love you, Rinoa Heartilly." He responded with fervor. Their lips were just about to fuse again when approaching footsteps interrupted them. And before they could assume a more presentable pose, Quistis and Siegfried came rushing in, and consequently blushed with embarrassment upon catching sight of the couple.

"Ooops! I didn't know you were here, Rinoa oh my I'm so sorry, you two" a red-faced Quistis profusely apologized. Rinoa childishly returned a smirk at her.

"What's up, Quisty?" Squall echoed as he gently guided Rinoa to sit beside him on the bed.

Brushing aside her embarrassment, Quistis cleared her throat before speaking out her business. "Remember what Jeremiah said about GFs, their being immortal and all?"

"Yeah. He said GFs weren't supposed to be killed. So..?"

"No, not that. The latter part, about immortality being inherent to all GFs except for two counterfeits."

"Okay" Squall's voice faded when he caught on to his deputy's train of thoughts. "Two counterfeits?"

"That's what he said." Quistis continued. "I remember you telling me about someone telling you that Eden is the only artificial GF in existence. But Jeremiah said there are two. Could he just be mistaken or is there really another man-made GF out there?"

Rinoa was slighted by what Quistis said, then turned a questioning look toward Squall. How come he told Quistis about this, but not her? She then dismissed the thought for later in light of this more pressing SeeD matter.

"No, Jerry couldn't have been wrong." Siegfried joined in. "I can't remember an instance when he actually made a mistake in anything he said."

"I second that." Rinoa agreed. "I think he really meant two artificial GFs. The question is, if one of them is Eden, then who or what is the other?"

"Who knows? But then I think I know the first place to check." Squall iterated, which elicited a curious inquiry from Quistis.

"Where is that?"

"The Deep Sea Research Lab." The head SeeD retorted. "The people who used to occupy it experimented on alternate Draw methods. That must have led to Eden's creation. So who's to say that she it Eden was the sole GF they created?"

"That's right." the instructor agreed. "So I assume that's out next destination?"

"We leave first thing tomorrow morning. So I'd suggest all of you to get some rest." Squall said, after which he trained a suspicious glance at Siegfried after hearing how he spoke to his golden-haired comrade.

"Bed time, Quisty. Let's go."

Oblivious to the latter proceedings, Rinoa closed her eyes in brief meditation as she tried to call on their newly acquired ally, Lobo, to junction to her. Almost instantly, she felt the familiar infusion of power when the wolf creature's ethereal essence merged with her spirit, making her aware of all the abilities Lobo possessed. Rinoa was mildly shocked after a short exploration of the new GFs myriad powers.

"My goodness..!"

Squall noticed her alarmed expression. "Rinoa? What's wrong?"

"I just junctioned Lobo and"

"And..?"

" Quistis can learn Terra Break"

* * *

He's done it again. What's that smell? 

Smells like rotten fish.

He looks around to see if the stench attracted the attention of the reporters milling around town. Half of him wished they did, maybe it'd be enough to make them leave. Damn tabloid jerks are making way too much out of that restoration project. Is the world in danger again? Are we facing another Sorceress War? Will Esthar and Galbadia finally clash head-on? Irresponsible idiots! They even went to the extent of alleging' that the meeting between General Caraway and President Loire is a farce, meant to hide the truth' that the two superpowers will never be able to settle their differences, and all out war is inevitable.

Spreading needless fear for the sake of increasing circulation. Damn infuriating! If he can have it his way he'd slice off the malicious fingers and lying tongues of these incorrigible doom-spreaders. He'd do it gladly, and show them no mercy. In his book, they do not deserve mercy.

* * *

"Oh well, I think it's way too much power for me to handle, anyway."

"Yeah, but it would've been real cool, Quisty. Terra Break? That's one major ass kicker if I ever saw one. Too bad we don't have enough Star Fragments." Irvine remarked, shaking his head. "What else is on that list, Rinoa?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just enough to enable Quistis to take on Ultimecia one-on-one." Rinoa wryly responded. "Of course, we can always go after the required items. But I'm not about to spend at least one whole year in any one of those two islands. No way!"

"Yeah, me too." Selphie followed up. "But it would have been real cool."

"Oh let's just stop this." Quistis shot back. "Why would I need this much power, anyway?" She then tossed a cautious look toward Siegfried. Though his gaze was trained on the cloudy patches littering the otherwise clear, blue sky, she can tell that he has been eavesdropping on the conversation she's having with her fellow SeeDs. And Quistis didn't have to be a telepath to know that he doesn't like what he's hearing. And that concerns her a lot.

"Deactivating auto-pilot." Zell, the designated pilot for that journey, announced. "Heads up, guys. Battleship Island dead ahead."

"Okay team, you know the plan. Except for Rinoa and Irvine, all unjunctioned personnel will stay here and be ready for anything." Squall rebriefed his crew. "That translates to Selphie and Zell. The rest of us will descend the Research Center."

As they traversed the length of the catwalk leading to the entrance of the long-abandoned facility, Squall looked back at the team he commissioned for this task. Quistis, as his deputy, naturally is included in almost all of their missions. Irvine will be the trouble shooter, as his sniping abilities have proven more than valuable in most occasions – especially recently that he seemed to have overcome his confidence problem. Siegfried well, he doesn't like the only non-SeeD member of the team. But he has certainly proven his capability during the battle against Lobo and Polaris.

And Rinoa? Though he insisted otherwise, the SeeD commander knows that his comrades are not pansies. And more than anything else, they are aware that the main reason why he included her in the task force is he simply wanted her to stay close to him. The threat of Vesta going after Rinoa had been bothering him during the past few days, and he's not about to take any chances. Better the devil that doesn't give a hoot, he reasoned.

What followed was another tension-filled trek going down to the various undersea levels, which ultimately ended at the spot where they defeated the deadly Ultima Weapon. Quistis began to breathe more easily after the party successfully completed the long descent through the winding concrete path they traversed before. 

"Hmm, we must have wiped out all the monsters." She silently marveled in gratitude for not having encountered the lethal array of creatures that used to inhabit the excavation site.

"Hey, what's that?" Rinoa exclaimed while pointing to an obscured cave just beyond the underground lake.

"Hmm, didn't notice that before." Squall observed. "Let's take a closer look."

The quintet carefully tiptoed along a narrow ledge leading to the slightly glowing opening. Stepping inside, the crew was amazed upon finding themselves inside a gigantic cavern, with dimensions that appear spacious enough to house the mobile form of Balamb Garden itself. But they were even more mesmerized by a series of luminous, crystalline rocks decorating a panel at the center of the enormous cavity. The rock crystals themselves seem to be alive, as they shine enough blue light to amply illuminate the cavern.

"I've seen this before in a movie" Rinoa softly muttered "about a man from another world who came to our planet while he was still a baby." But no one was listening to her anymore. Exercising extreme caution, the team approached the light source in a single file, with Squall leading the pack as usual. Coming within arms-length, he carefully examined the blue light-emitting crystals, which subsequently began to pulsate. Drawing a deep breath, Squall reached out for the shiny rock and slowly rested a finger on the uppermost tip.

"Whoa!" the head SeeD exclaimed when a weak surge of electricity penetrated his supposedly insulated gloves. "What the is this thing alive? It reacted like it doesn't like to be touched!"

However, the team's attention was drawn away when a sudden burst of wind startled them, as if an extremely fast object just sped by. They haven't regained their composure yet when the irregular winds again lashed against their faces.

"Did you see that?" Irvine blurted out. "There's something flying right by us, but it's so fast all I saw is a blur!"

Now they know that something is indeed about to come down. Subtle clanging and clicking sounds reverberated through the cave as the five warriors equipped themselves for battle. Brandishing the Lionheart, Squall stepped forward to address the unseen foe.

"Though we don't wish to fight, we are prepared to do so if that's what you want!"

As if in response to his pronouncement, the invisible adversary suddenly screeched to a halt and revealed its mind-boggling form. Its entire body appeared to be made of gleaming metal, but subtle waving movements along its shiny contours undoubtedly displayed sentience. It's eyes, alive with alternating blue and red radiance, unblinkingly locked at the five warriors as if its actually assessing their capabilities. Its four wings are wide, perhaps wider than the total length of its streamlined body, which measured approximately ten feet. Though they appear to be metal wings patterned after that of the aggressive Thrusteavis birds, each of the two pairs had a massive apparatus which appear to be rocket engines situated halfway between the base and the pointed tips. It didn't seem to have claws, which suggested that this seemingly robotic creature was cursed to forever spend its existence in the lofty state of being airborne. The metallic beast's entire appearance is menacing enough to make the Ragnarok's pale in comparison.

The creature didn't utter a word as it continued to gaze upon the obstinate quintet. For reasons unclear to him, Squall decided to approach the metallic beast. But as soon as he took his first step, a sudden explosion stunned the SeeD leader when the robotic avian blasted off with such unbelievable acceleration that it immediately broke through the sound barrier, once again disappearing from their sight.

"Aahhh!!!" Quistis cried out. Without even seeing anything coming, her leathered right forearm suddenly squirted blood when something cut across it. She briefly reeled from the pain, then promptly reassumed a battle stance while switching her golden whip from her right hand to her left. Siegfried instantly came to her aid.

"I'm alright." The fearless instructor shot out. "Just go for that thing!" 

The pacifist reluctantly complied, then turned his attention back to the surroundings to determine what form of attack he can use. But before he can even raise the Soul Hunter, Siegfried was knocked back when the speeding bird popped up in front of him and struck with its broad wings. The avian vanished just as quickly as it appeared, leaving Siegfried more dumbfounded than hurt.

"Dammit! Hold still for one second!" a frustrated Irvine hollered when his bullets didn't even come close to hitting their foe. He then watched helplessly as Rinoa suffered the same misfortune, cursing vehemently after hurling the Shooting Star against a wall of solid rock where the bird hovered a split-second previous.

Subsequent tries to tame the bullet-quick creature all proved for naught, as not even the all-consuming bombardment of a Meteor spell was enough to come close to touching the metallic avian. The closest they ever got was when Squall summoned Polaris, hoping that his magnetic powers would be enough to slow down the bird beast. But it likewise didn't hit pay dirt as the avian's momentum was too strong to be contained by the otherwise debilitating magnetic force. On the other side of the fence, the metallic foe is hitting his stride with impunity, repeatedly striking the warriors with lightning-fast assaults to continually disrupt their attacks. 

As they neared exhaustion, the SeeDs began to be beset by that unwelcome sense of defeat. However, Siegfried had other things in mind.

"You can outrun bullets good" he muttered. "Let's see how well you can do against light itself!" After which he echoed a summons to call upon the aid of his ally. "JEREMIAH!"

A prompt stillness blanketed the gargantuan cavern, as the shadows littering the area assimilated themselves to give form to the most ancient of all Guardian Forces: the benevolent servitor-entity who calls himself Jeremiah. Performing his designated task, Jeremiah's otherwise caliginous shape promptly began to emit sharp rays of incredibly bright white light that totally engulfed the enclosed battlefield. And even with his great speed, the robotic bird was unable to out-race the blinding flash that effortlessly overtook it, flooding its intricate optic nerves with an overload of visual input that consequently inflicted severe disorientation to its magic-infused micro-circuitry. A deafening boom reverberated when the blinded foe smashed against the hard wall of the cavern. When the white brilliance receded, the avian's metallic form lay sprawled on the rocky cavern floor, too stunned to pick itself up. The quintet gathered around their fallen foe, only to be startled when its silverized beak opened up to talk.

"Hhh never met anyone who actually outsmarted me."

"You can talk?" Squall marveled at the bird beast, genuinely surprised by its unexpected faculty to communicate in lieu of his knowledge of its origins.

"Of course I can, you half-wit." It tauntingly snapped back. "You're wondering how I can talk when that grotesque Eden can't?"

"Y-Yeah something like that uhh" the SeeD head reluctantly replied, wary of the next possible insulting remark he might get for his general cluelessness. And Squall's defensive behavior wasn't in vain.

"The name's Lockheed, ignorant mortal. And whoever told you Eden can't talk, huh? Have you even tried speaking to it?"

"That's not important right now." Quistis intermitted. "We've beaten you, so that means you'll be joining us."

"Of course I will. Like I said, you're the first ones to have outwitted me. And I find that very admirable for humans." The GF agreed. "And sorry about the arm, okay? I was really going for your weapon. Guess my aim's a little off."

Turning around, Squall discreetly whispered to Rinoa. "I will never build any compatibility with a wise-cracking GF like him. But I have just the person in mind." Rinoa tried not to laugh.

"Squall! Squall! Do you copy?" the SeeD commander's communicator crackled to life with Zell's voice.

"Zell, I was just thinking about you." Squall responded. Rinoa wasn't able to contain her laughter.

"? Whatever. Listen, we received an urgent message from Kiros in Esthar."

Reverting to his serious posture, Squall returned a quizzical response to Zell. "Urgent? Why? What's wrong?"

"Said it's really serious. We have to go to Esthar on the double!"


	8. Default Chapter Title

* * *

THE FOURTH UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 8

* * *

He shrugged while feasting his eyes on the classic steadily purring in front of him. An old Cephiron Inline VIII. Fully charged, with a spankin' new paint-job to boot. And grayish-silver has always been his color. He would never have it any other way. But the truth is, he'd settle for a more common automobile if need be. Better that than anything less. He would never be caught dead riding a chocobo.

Turning his attention to the town exit, he ponders once more. Should he finally do it? It's been a long time, but he strongly doubt if they had already forgotten. Or at least forgiven. What if they refuse? He had nowhere else to go.

He chuckled, for no apparent reason save the vicious irony of the situation. Seeking for approval, he tosses a questioning glance toward the two already inside the car. The beefier one nodded. It's now or never.

* * *

"Holy shit, I've never seen a monster like that!" Zell blurted out. 

Below, scores of white specks, which appear to be people wearing lab gowns, are frantically scampering for their lives. Behind them, the once illustrious form of the Lunar Gate slowly succumbed to infernal fires as some isolated explosion sprout out sporadically. In the middle of the hellish flames stood an imposing and frightful silhouette. The creature was spewing unearthly howls coming from two dragon-like heads protruding from a human-like anatomy so massive, it could easily shame that of an Iron Giant. And instead of two, there seem to be four arms extending from the main torso and appended by four gigantic claws. Another body seemed to be jutting out from behind the monster, an auxiliary form similar to a mutated Mesmerize's half-body.

"You're kidding, right? Tell me you're just trying to scare me." Irvine apprehensively snapped at Kiros on the Ragnarok's radio. "Because it's not working. I'm not scared. I'm petrified with fear!"

"Sorry, Irvine. But that's what our preliminary Scan analysis showed. It calls itself Hades Sentinel. And right now I think the reason behind the name is quite obvious." Kiros returned. "We'd try mobilizing our forces to neutralize it, but there's no more time. At the rate it's going, in less than an hour it could reach Esthar City itself. At the moment, you're the only thing we can come up with to take that monster out."

"This is terrible!" Quistis anxiously blurted out. "A monster that may as well be a composite of Ultima Weapon and Omega Weapon. Where did this thing come from anyway, Kiros?"

"Umm I guess the responsibility is ours, Quistis. When we destroyed Lunatic Pandora six months ago, we didn't bother to address the threat of the Crystal Pillar's power. We had no idea of the effect of having it dumped in Great Salt Lake."

"The Great Salt Lake a place fabled for its immense reserves of untapped magical energy." Muttered a contemplating Siegfried. "They have a point. The last place you'd want to dump a monster-attracting entity like the Crystal Pillar in is Great Salt Lake."

"There's no point in discussing that, guys." Squall voiced out. "Right now our main concern is to take this monster down. Even if we're not anywhere near our usual fighting form."

"That'd almost be suicide, Squall." Rinoa butted in.

"I know but right now we really don't have any choice." Turning his attention to the pilot, "Zell, operation Blitzkrieg."

"Here we go! Let's kick some serious ass!!!"

The majestic Ragnarok nosed down in response to Zell's forward drive. Letting out an excited roar, Zell pulled the throttle as far back as he can, channeling tremendous rocket energy to the Estharian flagship's main thrusters to bring it to a howling dive towards Hades Sentinel. Beside him, and equally hyped up Selphie indiscriminately drummed her fingers against the firing trigger of the phasor cannon to bombard the hideous monster with relentless pulse-wave fire that connected with impunity. Hades Sentinel staggered back, visibly hurt by the sudden assault.

"WHOO-HOOO!!!" the Trabian prodigy screamed in delight. However, her jubilant expression was replaced with alarm when the monster displayed incredible resilience by quickly returning fire with destructive energy bolts from its two gaping mouths. 

"Oh shoot!!! ZELL, BREAK RIGHT!!!"

Banking hard right, the Ragnarok narrowly avoided the powerful counter-attack. Opting to regroup, Zell allowed a few seconds to elapse before maneuvering the spacecraft for another approach. Squall, an idea forming in his mind, then issued a quick order.

"Zell, come in very, very low behind it. Try not to let it see you. Then at the last second, pull up."

"Squall, you're not thinking what I'm Oh man! You're not..!"

"Just do as I say, Zell!"

Reluctantly complying, Zell once again brought the Ragnarok to a steep dive, gradually leveling up as they approached ground level. Speeding towards their foe with merely ten feet of ground clearance, the SeeD pilot waited for the closest possible distance before tugging forcefully on the stick. And just before the crimson dragon ship flew past the mighty creature's head, Squall immediately pulled on the eject lever of his seat to send him flying out of the Ragnarok.

"SQUALL!!!" Rinoa screamed just as the auxiliary protective glass panel quickly closed in the cockpit to replace the one that flew off. "DAMMIT! LET'S GO BACK! LET'S GO BACK!!!"

Roaring rabidly, Hades Sentinel struggled like mad to reach the stubborn SeeD tightly clamping his arms around one of its scaly necks. But his massive arms were too bulky and muscle-bound to reach far enough behind him. Squall knew it would only be a matter of time before the beast managed to shake him off. Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, he swung the Lionheart across Hades Sentinel's neck. Clutching the blunt edge of the blade tightly with his left hand, the intrepid SeeD commander poured all his strength in one furious tug that forced the blade of the Lionheart inside the tough flesh. Hades Sentinel screamed in unbelievable agony when the mighty gunblade sliced halfway into its neck. Its subsequent, tormented bucking eventually threw Squall off it, leaving the Lionheart still lodged deep inside the bloodied wound.

"Damn!" Squall exclaimed when he realized what happened. Fortunately, his suicidal attack bought enough time for his crew to join him as Hades Sentinel continued to wince from the immense pain. Above them, the Ragnarok piloted by Zell and Selphie circled in for another approach. As the vile monstrosity started to regain its balance, Squall gathered his crew to begin their attack.

"Let him have it!" Squall shot out together with a well-aimed Meltdown attack that hit Hades Sentinel dead on. But to their surprise, there was no subtle change in its skin color to indicate affliction of the Vit 0 status ailment. Squall then decided on a conglomerated approach. "Let's do this together, team!"

Four Meltdown blasts bombarded the disfigured beast simultaneously, instantly shifting it's metallic silver shade to that of light purple. It was quickly followed by another devastating cannon barrage from the attacking Ragnarok that pummeled the violently lunging monster. 

Taking advantage of its confusion, Rinoa reached for a Phoenix Pinion inside her SeeD pouch and hurled it on the ground. It then burst to form a crawling avian figure on the ground, which subsequently gave birth to the spectacular Phoenix firebird. Screeching majestically, the Phoenix unloaded its live-giving Rebirth Flame, whose debilitating heat Hades Sentinel promptly absorbed.

"Yep, it absorbs elemental attacks. Very Omega Weapon-ish." Irvine sarcastically remarked while casting Aura on himself. Quistis quickly did the same while Squall, with the absence of his weapon, decided to go for Triple right after casting Aura on Rinoa. The raven-haired SeeD then proceeded to activate her sorceress powers.

"Sieg, the Soul Hunter is out of the question. You'll just end up re-energizing it." Quistis promptly warned Siegfried, who also opted to cast Triple on himself. 

And while the Ragnarok kept Hades Sentinel preoccupied, Squall, Quistis and Irvine called out a summons to their newly acquired Guardian Forces. Lobo, emerging from the boiling semi-fluid surface of the sun, dashed into space in a lightning-quick, zigzagging path that eventually led him over Hades Sentinel, where he spewed blazing solar plasma on the flinching beast. His partner, Polaris, solidified from the ionized field surrounding the planet and fired a humming magnetic stream that nearly pulled Hades Sentinel apart. And somewhere at the other side of the globe, a missile silo opened its massive gates, from where a blurred figure blasted off with explosive power. One second later, the speeding Lockheed rampaged at Mach 20 in front of the staggered monster, producing tightly packed air molecules which consequently decompressed with tremendous force to deliver a destructive sonic blast that pummeled Hades Sentinel.

"Do you feel it?" Quistis marveled at the after-effect of the last GF. "We're Hasted!"

"Man, these new GFs are totally awesome!" Irvine exclaimed in wonder.

"Yeah" Squall retorted. "But that thing's still standing." He added while gazing apprehensively at Hades Sentinel as it reared its two heads toward the bold warriors. Not wasting any time, Irvine cut loose with a barrage of Armor Piercing ammo fire that repeatedly pierced the tough hide of the fear-inspiring creature. Rinoa quickly followed with an unusually powerful Ultima spell, doing five times the damage due to her sorceress ability. Not to be left behind, Squall and Siegfried simultaneously attacked with Triple-casted Meteor spells.

Quistis was about to unload with her highly damaging Shockwave Pulsar, when she was stopped by an uncanny perception of an alien presence trapped inside Hades Sentinel. 

" Valhalla?" 

She then concentrated for a Draw maneuver that pulled the strange entity into her. 

But her action consequently gave the monster the dreadful inch that enabled him to square off for a counter-attack. Siegfried felt his blood freeze when he saw the murderous beast aiming for Quistis. With his heart racing insanely, the former pacifist frantically scampered to save the embattled instructor. And just as Siegfried managed to shove Quistis aside, violently crackling energy cut a swath across the air and struck him directly. They didn't even hear him scream.

"No!" a stunned Quistis stammered upon catching sight of Siegfried's horribly burned body. Too horrified to even speak out, she closed her eyes tight, cursing herself for what her negligence resulted into.

"Quistis! We need you here!" a panicky Irvine blurted out while pumping in the last of his Pulse ammo into Hades Sentinel. "Snap out of it!!!"

Struggling to regain her composure, the dazed instructor quickly stood up to rejoin her comrades. The creature had just hurled Squall against the rocky ground with one of its four claws, and is now ominously fixing its attention on the other two SeeDs. Rinoa tried to push the monster back with an Apocalypse spell, a move that proved to be an exercise in futility. She did manage to dodge the beast's bone-crushing swing, but Irvine wasn't as lucky, as when he was caught by the blow in the middle of reloading. Summoning all her strength, the beleaguered Rinoa then unleashed the unfettered fury of the deadly Shooting Star for a staggering impact that sent the hideous monster reeling back. Zell and Selphie again quickly followed up, as they maneuvered the Ragnarok for another assault wave that brought it careening down the great creature with all guns blazing relentlessly. The area quickly assumed the hellish scene of a burning war zone, with the obstinate SeeDs unrelentingly charging at the powerful beast which doesn't seem to be sustaining much damage at all.

Without warning, a mysterious hush permeated throughout the surroundings. Puzzled by the sudden stillness, Rinoa and Quistis looked around frenetically before affixing their attention on Hades Sentinel. His massive body is quivering, first steadily, then slowly building up in force as if a tremendous explosion is about to occur. The mighty beast then turned heavenward, with its two head and four clawed appendages starting to emit yellowish-white brilliance in preparation for its deadliest attack. 

The fragmented radiance then exploded. An explosion without sound.

Ground zero. Low rumblings spread their resonance for as far as anyone can hear. Globular solid light energy radiated from the center and fanned out in alarmingly rapid rate – consuming everything it touched and leaving only a terrain made of smoothly polished glass. Simultaneously moving its catastrophic power upward, the infernal field proceeded to dissipate the dark clouds with its devouring resplendence.

It is the Upheaval. The most powerful, most deathly cruel hell breath this universe has ever laid eyes on. Two thousand years ago, it destroyed an entire civilization of a far away world. Two millennia previous, it brought to an end four billion innocent and unsuspecting lives.

Two microseconds from now, with a greatly scaled down might, it will merely wipe out seven. Seven who just happened to be this planet's last hope.


	9. Default Chapter Title

* * *

THE FOURTH UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 9

* * *

__

"Glass. Just glass. Why can't I feel a damn thing?

"Numb. Just numb. No feeling, except glass. Warm glass. Hot glass.

"How badly am I hurt? Why can't I feel a thing? Nothing but glass...

"Wait a minute. I can feel the glass. I can feel the freakin' glass on my face. I'm alright. Just need time to let the blood flow. Come on, let's go baby."

He didn't know how long he was out. Overcome by a tingling sensation indicative of life-giving blood flowing back to his strained blood vessels, Zell slowly lifted himself up from the black obsidian surface. He looked around, and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing his teammates likewise gradually coming to. He closed his eyes. What the hell happened? The last thing Zell remembered was a wall of bright light rampaging towards the Ragnarok.

The Ragnarok? They were airborne when the blast struck them. Where's the Ragnarok? And where the hell is Selphie???

"Here, let me help you." Squall offered while pulling him up by the left arm. "Is everyone alright?"

"Man! Not to sound ungrateful, but how the hell did we get out of that one?" Irvine responded, bending down to run his fingers across the polished contour of the heat-fused silica. "Now we have the biggest dance floor the world has ever seen."

"Must be the Phoenix." Rinoa replied. "There's no way we could have survived that blast."

"Oh yeah?" Selphie approached, looking as puzzled as everyone else. "Then how do you explain that?" she furthered while pointing her soot-covered left arm on the Ragnarok, which was sturdily resting on the blanket of black glass and showing no signs whatsoever of damage. "I don't know about you guys, but I strongly doubt the Rebirth Flame can also resurrect a machine."

"Holy crap, guys." Irvine exclaimed. "Will you look at that!" A few hundred feet away, the lifeless body of the nihilistic Hades Sentinel lay sprawled on the jet-black ground. Approaching the gruesome carcass cautiously, the SeeDs were astounded to notice that the upper, human-shaped part of its body had been severed from the lower, horse-like half. After extracting the Lionheart from its neck, Squall curiously examined the body more closely.

"Strange. Sliced in half. And the severed parts show signs that it got burned. Someone... or something did this. And it's definitely not us."

"I'll say." Selphie concurred. "But... brrrr! Even attacking in full force, we hardly made a dent on its hide. Geez, imagine the kind of power possessed by whoever did this."

"This is serious, guys. What if it's not on our side?" Zell anxiously remarked. Squall's face remained emotionless, though he knows he shares his comrade's apprehension.

"Point noted, Zell. But let's worry about that later. For now, we have to see to our wounded." He echoed, turning his attention to Quistis while she silently cradled Siegfried's filth-riddled head. Not knowing what to say, the SeeD commander approached his deputy and kneeled beside her, softly pressing two fingers on top of the fallen warrior's carotid arteries.

"He's still breathing, but barely." 

Quistis didn't answer. But her heart-rending gaze screams unmatched grief as she stared back at Squall. He felt her desperation, her plea for him to help the injured Siegfried. After pulling off the black glove covering his right hand, Squall slowly brought it on her face, gently caressing it in silent assurance that he will do everything in his power to help their fallen ally.

"Selphie," the SeeD commander echoed. "Call Kiros and ask him to get a hospital room ready."

* * *

Not exactly pleased with the recently transpired events, Vesta nevertheless found reason to relax her fatigued nerves. Closing her eyes, her mind pondered on what might have happened had she not intervened in that colossal battle. The power of this Hades Sentinel was surprisingly immense, it likewise cast strong doubts on her abilities to defeat it in a fair fight. And these pathetic young warriors, they would surely have perished had she not used an exhausting temporal discorporation spell to protect them. Contrary to what Rinoa believed, the resurrecting essence of the Phoenix did not show up to do its job. It was Vesta herself, the malicious aspirant for the divine state who opted to come to their aid to save the most precious life of her 'third target'.

Recalling the moments that had just passed, Vesta wondered deeply on the wisdom behind her course of action. The thought of aiding her enemies had always repulsed her, even to the time of her first war with Hyne. She's done it quite a few times before, of course, but she never liked doing it. Yet still, the ultimate realization of her end-goal had always outweighed her own petty, personal considerations. If there's one thing that makes this demigod such a threat, is her ability to forget her revulsion in favor of a sound tactical maneuver. She had just saved the lives of those who intend to oppose her. If she had any choice, she would never have done that. But even someone who possesses the power of a godling has her limits. And the arcane potency of the life-preserving discorporation spell that renders a combatant ethereal is not something that even her hated enemy, Hyne, had managed to master. It was all or nothing. Save the life of her 'third target' and her friends, or see them all die outright.

It was a no contest. Vesta thought intently, she can always crush them at a later time, after she had secured the full godhood that she so desperately craved. And preserving the life of her objective is far more important than premature victory, which isn't really a true measure of victory in any manner of speaking.

She closed her eyes and smiled. Though her schedule had been slightly delayed due to what she believes as the incompetence of her Ogre-Bat assistant, Vesta nevertheless was on her way to her ultimate goal of regaining her godhood. Of course, her annoying adversaries are still alive, and they will certainly attempt to thwart her grand designs. She laughed, bringing to mind the series of crimson images her mystical monitor orb projected - the mind-blowing scene of these warriors' decisive battle against the contemptuous sorceress from the future.

"Ultimecia... you were such a fool to have relied solely on your vaunted powers." She tauntingly echoed to insult the deceased sorceress. "Such raw strength, and yet you failed to squash this small pack of insignificant bugs. Instead, they killed you! And all because of your stupidly intractable arrogance and insolence. You certainly deserve what befell you, my dear progeny."

Waving her hand anew to the glowing red sphere, Vesta glared with jeering eyes at the ghastly image of a disintegrating Ultimecia. 

"I will not make the same mistake that you did, miserable whore."

* * *

It's not everyday that Rinoa witnesses a scene like this one. The usually calm and composed Quistis, sitting quietly across the hall of Esthar Hospital's highly advanced Trauma Care Center. Though standing not closer than twenty yards, Rinoa can easily discern that her resolute comrade and friend was gripped by heavy anxiety, judging from the pale hue on her sullen face. She sighed, deliberating what to do next. Should she try and comfort her teammate? Should she let her be? Opting to give way to her more natural and compassionate bearing, the raven-haired lass slowly made her way towards her grief-stricken comrade. Quistis looked at her and attempted to force a smile through her lips.

"Hey..." Rinoa softly opened. "the doctors said he's gonna be fine." Quistis just nodded, clutching Rinoa's hand in a gentle clasp as if thanking her for the thought.

She didn't merely issue a false assurance just to cheer up her teammate. The attending physicians did say that Siegfried had managed to get past the most crucial point of his injuries, and was presently on the way to a sure albeit long process of recovery. In essence, there really wasn't anything that Quistis should be worrying about anymore. But in the back of her mind, Rinoa knew that Quistis' foreboding disposition was being caused by far more than just a mere concern of Siegfried's safety. She knew that the instructor felt responsible for getting him involved in the fray. She knew that her blonde-haired teammate was blaming herself for the tragedy that befell the pacifist. 

Training her gaze back to the former instructor, the recently inducted SeeD pondered at the unusual situation she found herself in.

They had been working together for more than a year now, though it was only during the past week that their relationship has assumed an official state. Nevertheless, the fact that she has dwelled with this popular and intelligent SeeD for that long can never be denied. And yet, this is perhaps the first and only time that Rinoa actually took a second look at her relationship with Quistis. And she has to admit the fact that they never really became that close as friends, at least not like how she and Selphie did. It could be because Rinoa shared a lot more in common with Selphie than she ever did with Quistis. She'd readily accept this reason if only to hide a more unfavorable and admittedly uglier explanation. Because it might also be because of a deep-seated, subliminal resentment of the fact that Quistis harbors profound feelings for Squall.

Of course, though they both haven't reached their twentieth years yet, that is by no means an excuse for Rinoa to act so childishly as to actually hold it against Quistis. Besides, she thought, Quistis and Squall had been friends long before she came into the picture. She had no right in any conceivable way to resent the instructor because of some feelings of amour that she never even tried to pursue in the first place.

And now, staring intently at her unsuspecting rival, Rinoa came to an enlightening realization that all her petty considerations about Quistis and Squall are totally irrelevant. It doesn't matter if she knows how much Squall loves her and that given any situation, he'd readily choose her over Quistis. It doesn't matter that during the past few days the golden-locked SeeD has developed a close relationship with another man, therefore rendering their rivalry moot and obsolete. All it matters now is how she feels about Quistis, especially at this point when her beleaguered teammate needs a friendly shoulder to lean on in her hour of need. Rinoa was quite surprised to realize just how much she really cared about Quistis.

Wrapping her right arm around her distraught teammate's shoulders, Rinoa echoed a curt yet sincere offer. "Would you like to talk about it?"

* * *

"That was an incredible job you and your friends did back there, Squall. Sorry we weren't able to mobilize any support for you guys. We're not exactly prepared for this kind of situation."

"Yeah..." Squall reluctantly replied as he looked back at Laguna. "Also sorry that we failed to save the Lunatic Pandora lab and Lunar Gate..."

"Oh hell, that's perfectly okay." The beloved president of Esthar smilingly returned. "I was really planning on shutting down those two facilities anyway. They were just standing there, sucking in taxpayer's money without doing one bit of useful thing."

Squall didn't bother to answer, walking instead to the porch overlooking the panoramic view of downtown Esthar City. Laguna stared intently at the SeeD commander before nonchalantly carrying on with the conversation. "So how are your friends doing?"

"I sent Selphie and Irvine back to Balamb to report to the Headmaster." Squall retorted with a persistently bland tone. "Rinoa and Quistis are at the hospital looking after that technician from FH..."

"Yeah, Siegfried." Laguna interrupted. "I knew the guy quite well. One hell of a soldier that Siegfried is. And I really felt sorry when he requested for honorable discharge."

"I'll bet." Squall maintained his dry tone. "... and Zell is... come to think of it, where is that guy anyway?"

Though he had been deaf to the more essential callings for the most part of his life, Laguna was by no means insufferably numb to the cold treatment being regarded him by Squall. The president of the most powerful country knew exactly where this frigid disposition is coming from but he cannot dare pursue it due to the fear that had been stopping him from doing so for the past year.

Deciding it best to act indifferently, he continued on, ignoring Squall's coldness.

"So, I understand Rinoa will be staying with us for the time being?"

"Uhh, yeah, if you don't mind, that is." The head SeeD sheepishly answered. "I'm just concerned about her safety... with the enemy looking to abduct her and all..."

"Ahh, don't be silly! I'd be glad to take care of Rinoa. Don't worry. That Vesta witch will be really sorry if she decides to go after her here." Laguna enthused. His ebullience quickly dissipated, however, when Squall once again fell to a silent reverie. Not knowing what to say anymore in light of this awkward predicament, Laguna nevertheless tried to continue the small talk.

"Ellone said you haven't been calling her latel..."

"Why didn't you come back?" Squall suddenly blurted out, which elicited a startled look from Laguna. "What kept you from coming back?"

Totally caught off guard, the confused Laguna groped for a sensible answer. But however he tried, all he could think of are explanations that he feared Squall might shoot down as lame and nonsensical. Instead, the Esthar president just looked at his estranged son with eyes desperately begging for forgiveness.

"Laguna... father... dad... I don't know what to call you." Squall exclaimed, his voice starting to crack. "I'm not really mad at you, okay. I just want to know why you never returned to Raine."

"I... have told you. The job... my word..." Laguna stuttered. His confused state nevertheless gave way to a resolute yet repentant demeanor. "You know... I can never really offer any good excuse. Forget about the fact that I gave my word to the resistance group who helped me save Ellone, or that I didn't even know that Raine was pregnant. I... I don't know." He paused for a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry... ... ... son..."

"Don't call me that!!!" Squall yelled vehemently as his reddening eyes start to well up. He then lowered his head, breathing hard in an effort to clear his seemingly obstructed chest. When Squall spoke again, his voice was calm, tranquil. Though the heaviness in his heart cannot be denied. 

"I... I've been alone for so long. Hearing you call me that... hurts. So please, at least... not now..."

Laguna smiled. 'Not now'. Perhaps there is still a chance to retake what he lost eighteen years ago. It may take some time, but he can wait.

The SeeD communicator ruined the moment when it once again beeped to herald Zell's voice.

"Squall. Zell here. Come over to Dr. Odine's lab. I think you need to hear what he has to say."

* * *

Marcus Derlini has yet to do something substantial to prove his mettle as a new member of the illustrious SeeD corps. And since the inauguration, he eagerly sought ways to show all and sundry that he deserves his well-earned post among the ranks of the elite combat specialists.

And in his reckless enthusiasm, he performed an act that he only now begins to discern as somewhat rash and heedless. 'What have I done?' he repeatedly nagged himself after giving his unqualified cooperation to 'him'. Now, with the knowledge that his secret conspirator is about to make his presence known, Marcus starts to feel that he's career as a SeeD may just be over even before it began. He looked around, and spotted Selphie and Irvine together with Headmaster Cid. He muttered, "Will I ever be like them?"

"Damn, what if he's just taking me for a ride? What if he really didn't mean anything he said?" the rookie SeeD anxiously echoed in his mind. Whether he did the right thing or not, he will know for sure within the next few moments.

The quad suddenly became dark. Marcus looked up. Something huge is blocking the sun.

* * *

"Zis iz really strange. I see a pattern, but zis iz still strange."

"What is, doc?" Zell curiously inquired while watching Squall walk into the room. "And could you speak a little clearer? I'm having a friggin' headache listening to your Z' defect."

"I vill talk however I vant!" Odine shot back.

"Freakin' hell. I forgot about the V' defect. Anyway, you we're saying..?"

"Errgghh, I vas saying zat iz strange. I know Vesta, and she vas ze enemy of ze great Hyne. Vesta can't beat Hyne using her own power, so she pairs with ze Tengu creature."

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know. Come on, doc. Get to the point." Zell snapped at the scientist while looking at Squall as he maintained his silence.

"Okay, I vill get ze point. Vhy iz Vesta fighting Hyne in ze first place? Zat iz because Vesta iz looking for ze power of ze Quadrum Aura. And Hyne knows zat Quadrum Aura iz very dangerous, so she can never allow Vesta to possess it."

"Quadrum Aura? What the hell is that?" Squall finally voiced out.

"Zat is a very powerful magic, more powerful zan ze Ultimecia's Time Compression. BUT unlike Time Compression, it will not bring about ze end of ze universe. No. But it can do something more terrible." Odine pauses while noting the two SeeDs' perplexed expressions. He then continued on with his explanation. "Vhen used correctly, ze Quadrum Aura will open a door to bring in ze Fourth Universe."

"Man, more out-of-this-world babble." Zell shot back. "Okay, I give up. What is zis... freakin' hell... THIS friggin' Fourth Universe?"

"Ze Fourth Universe iz technically a parallel dimension I detected before vhen I discovered ze existence of ze Guardian Forces. Most Guardian Forces inhabit a ghost plane called ze dimensional interval. It iz a narrow gap zat separates our universe from ze Fourth Universe. And ze GFs inhabiting it are in essence protecting us from ze Fourth Universe. It iz one of Hyne's last legacies before he vanished."

"And what does Vesta have to do with it?" Squall asked back.

"Listen closely! Vesta believed herself to be a goddess. Zerefore she vants to rule our world. But in order to do so, she must subjugate ze world under her power, but Hyne prevented her from doing so. Now, Hyne iz gone, but Vesta has returned. Her return has already created reverberations across zis plane zat penetrated ze dimensional interval, creating irregularities in zat ghost plane."

"That explains why Quezacotl was able to appear without before summoned." Squall thought to himself before turning his attention back to Dr. Odine.

"Ve are already in danger vhen Vesta returned. I don't know how she did it, but zat iz not important. Vhat iz important iz what she plans to do next." Odine paused for a sip of water before carrying on. "Like I said, she vants to possess ze Quadrum Aura. With Quadrum Aura, she can easily cut through ze dimensional interval to open ze portals to ze Fourth Universe. If she becomes successful, ze energy of ze Fourth Universe will pour into our dimension and cancel out ze magic forces of our world. No magic, no one can do battle. And Vesta vill reign supreme."

"How is that possible?" Zell voice out while scratching his head.

"You see, ze Fourth Universe iz a dimension made of anti-matter energy. Ze anti-matter works like a neutralizer zat renders our laws of physics ineffective and obsolete. And what iz our magic anyway but merely mystical manipulations of physical laws? Ze elementals, ze non-elementals, zey are all but supernatural mimicries of various physical principles inherent to our universe. Vith anti-matter, zey become useless. And Vesta vill become ze only one vith ze power. Ve will not stand a chance against her."

"Wait" the SeeD leader interrupted. "If all magic becomes useless, how can Vesta retain her powers? Wouldn't she also lose hers as well?"

"Ahh, but zat iz another facet of ze Quadrum Aura. Zat magic's components guarantee zat it vill not be affected by ze anti-matter."

"Components?"

"Quadrum Aura iz a combination of four of ze most powerful manifestations of magic forces in zis universe. Ze first is ze Sorceress Spirit which iz taken from ze life forces of sorceresses. Ze second iz a fusing of ze mightiest elemental forms. Think of it as an Ultima spell except zat it iz totally controllable."

"Hmm, so that explains why Vesta is after the sorceresses. And it takes three sorceresses to create one Sorceress Spirit, right?" Squall curiously inquired with emphasis on his personal involvement to the subject.

"Wrong! One sorceress iz enough to create ze Sorceress Spirit."

"Huhh??? Then why is Vesta going after three sorceresses?" a more baffled SeeD commander snapped.

"Uhh I don't know. Are you sure it iz three she iz after?" Odine replied.

"Anyway, what about the elementals?" Zell intermitted.

"Vat is ze most powerful elemental forms in ze universe?" Odine issued a thought -provoking question.

"Uhh the elemental GFs?" Zell hesitantly replied.

"Correct! You guys are really smart. Okay, it iz ze GFs. Specifically, your elemental GFs."

"Huh??? Are you suggesting that Vesta captured our GFs, and didn't destroy them like we thought?"

"Zat iz a very strong possibility. But I am merely speaking for ze elementals, not ze non-elementals." Odine retorted, evoking a sullen reaction from the two SeeDs. Though trying hard to focus on the business at hand, Squall still can't deny the fact that he's heartbroken due to the apparent death of their Guardian Forces.

"Okay," He returned. "Assuming you are correct, she already has two of the four components. What are the other two?"

"Ze third iz a mysterious energy form zat I call ze Cosmic X." Odine continued. "Spawned by ze fiery battlefields of Hyne's war against Vesta, it vas uncovered by a group of scientists experimenting vith alternative methods to extract natural magic sources in a place famously known as ze Battleship Island."

"Eden." Zell muttered. "So than explains why Vesta ripped it off Nida."

"Cosmic X iz a malevolent form of energy. In ze wrong hands, it can cause unpredictable effects on ze functions of elemental energies. However, using ze right method, it amplifies elemental magic. It iz a double-bladed sword in ze hands of ze wise user."

"And the fourth?"

"Ze fourth iz what makes ze Quadrum Aura functional under anti-matter. Have you heard of ze Anti-Life magic?"

"No." Zell curtly replied.

"Errggh Ze Anti-Life magic iz a mystery unto itself. Very, very rare, It iz the only magic zat can cause true death. True death iz permanent and irreversible, as distinguished from your normal Death spell zat introduces death as merely a status effect, and therefore can be counteracted.

"No one alive can escape ze Anti-Life. It iz a very lethal magic. And vhat's more, ze Anti-Life iz said to assume ze mental state of its user. Vhen ze user iz good, ze Anti-Life iz pretty. Vhen otherwise, it becomes dark and ugly. But its effect iz always ze same: instant death."

"Oh, you mean like when a person using it is like, let's say Seifer, it will reflect his inner bitterness therefore making it look something like hell." Zell theorized. "But if someone like Rinoa uses it, it will look like spring afternoon or a beautiful flower field."

"Exicactly!"

"Hmm, something like Selphie's The End" 

Zell's face turned pale white as it all suddenly became clear to him. He had always wondered behind the scenes about certain loopholes in their analysis of their enemy's schemes. An implicitly unsettling series of thoughts that started back in Siegfried Waller's farm when, after recovering from their crushing defeat, one of the first things they did was contact their SeeD agent stationed in Timber. After which they learned that the Card Queen was still safe in her hotel room, which suggested that Vesta never went after her even though they were already out of the way and unable to protect the Card Queen.

Then while they were powerlessly quarantined in Siegfried's farm, why didn't she go after Rinoa? Is it because of some idiosyncrasy that compels the demigod to avoid a confrontation without challenge? Is it an underlying ineptness in tactical maneuvers? Not likely, Zell thought. Vesta would never have stood her ground against Hyne that long if she had been strategically inadequate.

This can only mean one thing. The second target was a decoy. Vesta only needed one sorceress, and one other who possesses the Anti-Life magic. She went after the Card Queen to throw them off by making them believe that Rinoa was her 'third target'.

Zell can't believe just how easily they fell for that trick.

"Holy crap, Squall" He turned to the SeeD commander with a flushed face. Squall's skin was equally pasty, an ominous sign that he, too, had solved the sinister mystery.

"Damn!" Squall exclaimed. "All this time we've been trying to protect Rinoa, but THE THIRD TARGET' IS REALLY SELPHIE!!!"

"Vait! I vant to talk some more!" Odine yelled after the two SeeDs who hurriedly scampered for the exit.

* * *

"Excellent! Bravo, Tengu!" Vesta jubilantly commended her gruesome cohort. "Finally, you've done something right for a change."

"Hrr... you insult me once again, mistress. Why didn't you tell me from the start about your real plans? Why lead me to believe that we need three sorceresses? Is that how much you loathe my intelligence?"

"Tengu Tengu" Vesta retorted condescendingly. "My loyal and grisly thrall. It was all part of an utterly perfect plan to make our enemies erect their defenses at the wrong places. There is no element of insult whatsoever. On the contrary, you have served your role excellently in this grand design. And for that, I commend you with my highest degree of admiration for one as loathsome as you."

"Yes, of course." The Ogre-Bat retorted, not exactly unaware of his mistress' patronizing intent. "Never mind. So you have your precious 'third target' which isn't really one at all"

"Yes, yes..." Flashing a most evil smile, Vesta levitated slowly toward the unconscious, bleeding form of Selphie. Her excitement cannot be concealed anymore as the vile witch quivered wickedly and uncontrollably, raising the limp head of the helpless SeeD by her brown hair. 

"You will be the exclamation mark of my glorious return to power, youthful wench. Consider it an honor. Elevate me to the pedestal with your frail and worthless life."

Outside, three wild bushes wither under the deathly assault of infernal laughter.


	10. Default Chapter Title

* * *

THE FOURTH UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 10

* * *

"Irvine Kinneas... loser."

The phrase had been echoing over and over again in Zell's mind ever since they arrived in Balamb Garden, welcomed by the disheartening sight of injured students and smoldering ruins indicative of a grim struggle against whoever abducted Selphie. His guess of the perpetrator's identity is, of course, Tengu. But he's not about to pat himself on the back for a deduction as effortlessly easy as that.

And right now, it hardly matters at all. Nothing does, except for the disconsolate atmosphere surrounding him and his teammates. Zell can't understand what he felt when he saw Irvine, his left hand clutching the Exeter and his right arm restrained by corrective splints. Must be broken, he surmised. But his injured gun-arm didn't deliver as much impact to Zell as did his troubled, grief-stricken facial expression.

"Loser..?" the Balamb native had always taken the Galbadian standout as such. They may have gone along better during the last few months than they did after they first met, but first expressions do have a way of making themselves last. Especially when he sees Irvine consistently displaying his annoyingly flirtatious attitude towards Balamb Garden's 'cuties' like he thinks he's God's gift to women. As if its such a great thing, Zell would usually say.

But Irvine looking this concerned about Selphie? Admittedly, he was totally caught by surprise. Of course, as a teammate, it's natural for him to be worried. After all, they all are. But Irvine's face is so afflicted with grave anxiety; ashen and gruesomely pale. It's like he's ready to break down at any moment.

Maybe the gunman truly cares about Selphie, Zell concluded. Maybe he's wrong about this guy after all.

"Dammit! What are we waiting here for anyway?!?" the distressed Irvine suddenly exclaimed, almost to the ironic amusement of the martial artist when he thought the gunman was stealing his reputation as the impatient member of the team. But he relinquished his slight smirk when the Galbadian SeeD furthered his display of brashness. "Squall, why aren't we doing something?!?"

And Zell himself took the initiative to console his troubled teammate, walking behind him to gently lay a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "Easy, bro. I'm freakin' dying to go after those idiots too. But we don't even know where to start."

Realizing that Zell's right, Irvine just bowed his head in hopeless surrender. Meanwhile, at the library, Quistis appeared unmindful of what's going on outside as she peeked with one bespectacled eye through the eyepiece of a spectrum microscope. Earlier, she noticed what seem to be claw prints of a huge beast littering the area around the quad, and decided to collect samples for close examination. Detecting minute yet telltale signs of irregularity in the patch of red earth she gathered, the astute instructor gently pushed her chair back and walked towards the row of books labeled 'Geography'. Quistis later came back with a thick volume, which she furiously combed through for information that she hopes would confirm her suspicion.

After browsing through a couple of pages, the blonde-haired SeeD went back to the microscope and noted the tiny specks of shimmering, bluish metallic particles mixed with the rich red soil. As she tweaked the controls of the instrument, the view inside assumed a kaleidoscopic outline before revealing unique wavelength readings indicative of magic traces in the blue particles. Quistis exhaled resoundingly, uncertain if she should be relieved or feel more dreadful with her discovery.

"Eastern red soil and mystically-forged blue steel. Centra and Chef's Knife..." she murmured before meditating briefly to junction the Valhalla GF she acquired from Hades Sentinel. The instructor then promptly activated her communicator to contact her teammates. "Everyone, let's power up the Rag. We're going to the Centra Ruins."

* * *

It took merely seconds for the Ragnarok to disappear from his sight as it sped southeastward for Centra. Training his nervous gaze downward, Marcus noticed a silver-gray car approaching Garden.

"Oh man, here we go..." he anxiously mumbled before running to the gate. When he got to the Garden entrance, he immediately caught notice of the wide-mouthed reaction of the students as they gawked unbelievingly at the unexpected visitors. The leader of the pack stopped right in front of him.

"What happened here?"

"It... It's a long story." The dark-skinned SeeD stammered. "If you want you can ask the Headmaster yourself."

"Does he..."

"I already told him. At first he didn't want to believe it but..." 

The visitor didn't wait for Marcus to finish and continued on his way toward the elevator, unmindful of the dozens of astounded pairs of eyes currently fixated on him at the moment.

"I didn't think Marcus was serious." Cid voiced out upon setting eyes on the unexpected guest. "We're having some problems right now... but you can probably tell, anyway." He added, half-entertaining a suspicion that their guest might just be involved in this crisis. 

However, his curt reply totally caught the Headmaster by surprise.

"I... I'm here to help."

* * *

His glazed, white eyes slowly shifted to a shade of burning red. Loud, cracking reverberations echoed through the black void as the imposing figure clenched his fists tight. His fury was unimaginable. If he could have his way, he wouldn't think twice in squeezing the life out of that single object of his pure and unmatched hatred.

"Such audacity. Such brazen display of unforgivable transgression. This fiend will soon feel the wrath of my august might."

"I CAN FEEL YOUR ANGER, LEGENDARY ONE." echoed a resonating snarl behind the incognito form. "AND I SHARE IT AS WELL. BUT YOU KNOW WE CANNOT DO ANYTHING UNLESS THE SEAL IS FINALLY BROKEN."

"And with all due respect, o Great Defender," voiced out yet another ghastly shape hovering alongside him. "this witch... wields considerable might. We need to think things through should we get the chance to exact retribution."

"Yes, you are correct, Dark one." the central figure concurred. "I am languishing in this prison mainly because of my own vainglory. Rest assured. I will not make the same mistake twice."

He would have reiterated the throes of his indignation if not for the uncanny perception of a dark presence in the midst of the shapeless field. Training the pair of fiery dots toward the source of the silent turmoil, the the armored protector saw what appeared to be a silhouette of the infamous one who had been corrupted by false greatness. Though the shame in his form was evident, the shimmering bolts sporadically escaping from his body still symbolized the overflowing, raw power in it. 

His death-inundated lips smiled, as if expecting an irony. This dishonored entity, whom everyone almost condemned to an eternity of endless shame, may yet get his chance at atonement after all.

* * *

"It's too quiet. Way too quiet." Rinoa nervously commented. Right in front of the gallant quintet, the mysterious and eerie structure of the infamous Centra Ruins stood in fear-inspiring grandeur, as if it's actually enticing them to enter its forbidden gates.

"The calm before the storm." Squall followed. "Stand fast, team. Be ready for anything."

They had barely made their way through the entrance when a ravenous roar tore through the chilly night air. Not too far away, a pair of massive, dark-gray sentinels stood in their path.

"Damn, two Hexadragons! Vesta is playing for keeps!" Zell blurted out. Beside him, Irvine didn't utter a word as he conjured an Aura spell unto himself. Before the monsters could even react, a barrage of Pulse ammo fire pummeled them relentlessly. Only one was left standing when the bombardment ceased. But the remaining Hexadragon was nevertheless easily cut down with three quick Blizzaga attacks.

"That was a feint," Quistis remarked. "meant to assess our strengths. Be careful, team. The real battle hasn't started yet."

True to the wise instructor's insight, a rampaging Ruby Dragon suddenly appeared behind the quintet and immediately unleashed a Fire Breath attack that totally caught them by surprise. Not prepared for the Back Attack, the SeeDs absorbed a huge amount of damage that sent them staggering back, desperately seeking for cover as the monster sustained his fiery assault. 

When the dragon paused for breath, Squall immediately reached for a Megalixir to replenish their nearly depleted stamina. Zell then tossed a Triple spell on Quistis who subsequently counter-attacked with three consecutive Meteors. It was followed by Irvine's armor piercing salvo and Rinoa's unusually powerful, Angel Wing-triggered Apocalypse attack that sent the Ruby Dragon reeling back.

"Hhh, good thing Rinoa hasn't seen Doctor Odine yet." Squall muttered before summoning Lockheed, who delivered the finishing blow on the crimson beast with a devastating Sonic Boom assault.

The five warriors had just barely caught their breaths when they were surprised anew by a foul-smelling stench that assaulted their senses. As his four teammates fell unconscious, a disoriented Zell turned to the source of the revolting vapor.

"Friggin' Malboros!" he exclaimed while tossing another Megalixir to quickly remove his crew's status disabilities. "Irvine!"

"Roasted broccoli, anyone?" the gunslinger quipped, his fingers relentlessly pulling the trigger to unload a succession of burning Fire ammo on the two plant-monsters. Displaying impeccable teamwork honed by months of fighting alongside each other, the stalwart SeeDs made quick work of the disgusting creatures with triple Flares, Firagas and the combined might of the Phoenix and the non-elemental fury of Lobo.

"Aaaahhhhh!!!!" Squall hollered when the sharp tail of an attacking creature suddenly struck him. The others quickly turned to the sight of four Grendels lunging on to them. Zell, Rinoa and Irvine were able to dodge the beasts' deadly onslaught, but Quistis wasn't as fortunate. Recoiling from the blow, the bloodied SeeD became enraged and consequently summoned her Guardian.

"VALHALLA!"

As the five disappeared from the scene, a dreadful darkness fell over the area. The lush terrain transformed around the Grendels into a desolate wasteland, as they turned their astonished eyes upward to the menacing sight of a disfigured mountain descending from the black sky. Emitting a silver glow, the hovering monolith caused the ground below the monsters to crack open, from where a dozen or so Grim Reapers emerged to smite them with their frightful, soul-tearing sickles. After which the whole scene imploded unto the hapless Grendels to deliver a staggering cosmic blow that pummeled them with impunity.

"Geez! They're still standing!" Rinoa exclaimed when she saw the four Grendels coming back from the GF attack. However, the raven-locked SeeD's dismay was premature. Within seconds, the hideous monsters abruptly went limp and fell lifeless on the ground.

"Quick acting Doom." Quistis remarked. "Better be careful to whom I use that GF against."

"Let's go." Squall directed. "We have to find Selphie before it's too late."

* * *

"Why do you find these proceedings necessary, mistress? If I were you, I'd simply kill these meddlers and be done with it."

"Tengu, such a magnificent design would lose half its meaning when not performed in the midst of an appreciative audience." Vesta replied, vainly expressing her pathological fondness for the grand theatrics. "I yearn to savor the soul-wrenching fear in their faces once I open the portals to my imminent godhood."

"Unh... I can't... believe this..." a tortured voice emanated from behind them, where Selphie's exhausted form was chained against a scum-ridden pillar not unlike the one Mina Ranziel is also bonded to. "After all these... posturing, you're nothing but a... an attention-depraved hot dog..."

Vesta's spiteful glare trained irately towards the helpless SeeD. "I really should kill you for the remark, pitiful hussy. But no, I shall not." She relented after snapping a mild force wave to hit Selphie's head against the hard stone. "Instead, I shall call unto your comrades to watch while I unravel the very fabric of your useless soul. You will die a very slow and painful death, my dear. Thus is my word."

"Mistress, they come." Tengu cautioned Vesta as he watched through the monitor orb the five fearless warriors traversing the dilapidated stairway leading to the upper platform.

"Let them come, Tengu. Their eagerness will soon prove to be their own undoing."


	11. Default Chapter Title

* * *

THE FOURTH UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 11

* * *

Edea Kramer can't seem to shake off the penetrating anxiety overwhelming her. It's been close to two hours now since her brave protégés embarked on a mission to rescue their abducted comrade, and close to that much time when their unexpected guest followed their tracks. The kindhearted Matron has very little doubt - if any - on these young warriors' fighting capabilities. She knows that they can easily prevail over most combat situations.

But this one is not 'most combat situations'. Edea almost regretted why she ever spent all those times studying the planet's history in conjunction with her extensive research on magic, in her effort to find a way to rid herself of the curse of being a sorceress. She wields huge amounts of knowledge about Vesta, the vile and nearly all-powerful entity who vainly waged war against Hyne in seeking to gain absolute control of the universe. Unlike the overbearing and impertinent Ultimecia, Vesta is a craftier and more calculating combatant, whose dogged pursuit for the dramatics is surpassed only by her insidious penchant to undermine her opponents' prowess and nibble through their capabilities prior to staging an up-close and personal encounter. And her cunning has already exacted heavy losses among the ranks of the youthful gladiators: Xu, Nida, and especially the GFs. To make matters worse, an unexpected twist of fate likewise removed their reinforcement from the picture. Siegfried, with his mastery of the mythical Soul Hunter, would have been a most formidable ally.

It's like deja vu. As with the struggle against the future-based sorceress, it's again down to the six of them. Possibly ten, if the additional personnel could make it to the battlefield on time. But frankly, Edea is scared. She's fearful of the SeeDs' chances of prevailing over this greater threat. Chances that she's not even sure if it exists at all. Of course, Squall and his crew are not the same as before. They're now more mature and vastly more experienced. But they will not be fighting a sorceress this time around. They'll be up against a spiteful yet tactically adept demigod whose hellish powers can just as effortlessly wipe them all out.

The benevolent Matron's musing was interrupted when Cid walked in the office.

"Just got off the phone with President Loire." Her husband wearily remarked. "He's asking about Siegfried in the off-chance that he went here."

"'Went here'?" Edea retorted with a puzzled look. "Why? What happened?"

"Seems he escaped from the hospital and stole a VX class space shuttle. Three guesses on what he intends to do."

* * *

Squall cautiously touched one foot on the slab of stone wedged between the two platforms. It didn't budge. More than a year ago when he stepped on this same slab, it levitated, in the process denying him entrance to the heavy wooden door right in front of it. He wondered what exactly was behind those doors. Now, it seems someone wants him to find out.

"I have a feeling we'll find what we're looking for inside there."

"So what are we waiting for?" a pensive Irvine voiced out. "Let's get in there and give 'em hell!" 

The door exploded with a deafening blast after the gunslinger unloaded a round of Demolition Ammo. Through the razed portal, five intrepid gladiators cautiously made their way into the dank and spacious chamber. The stale air was immensely heavy and reeked with the smell of decaying matter. But that hardly mattered at all for the adamant SeeDs, especially after they caught sight of the radiant yellow death-beam shining down on the stage where two helpless figures were chained on a pair of fissure-riddled rock pillars.

"Selphie!!!" Irvine yelled as he rushed toward his shackled teammate. He was nevertheless stunned when an invisible wall of force suddenly repelled him. "Shit! A barrier!"

"She's my toy now. You wish to take her back? You'd have to go through me first." A contemptuous voice echoed within the vast chamber. The young warriors abruptly turned to the sight of the lofty Vesta and her equally baneful associate, Tengu. "Of course, it's not like your meager abilities would be enough to defeat me. Prepare to meet oblivion."

"What? No speech? And to think I came prepared with a pen and a scrapbook." Zell remarked condescendingly.

"Do not liken me to that arrogant witch you conquered." Vesta snidely retorted. "She was a fool, thinking she can easily wipe you out just like that. I, on the other hand, have already defeated you. And you don't even have the slightest cognizance that you're already vanquished."

Suddenly, a mighty tremor shook the sturdy foundation where the five headstrong SeeDs stood. The ground then gave way to the earthquake, cracking open violently as the warriors lost their footings and fell into the wide fissures. Just as quickly as it opened, the fissures began to close, trapping the hapless SeeDs inside its hungry crevices. Vesta smugly crossed her arms when the ground completely consumed her adversaries.

But then, the concrete embankment again began to shake and split open through Rinoa's sheer force of will, as she exerted tremendous effort in telekinetically forcing the fissures to open, freeing herself and her friends. Ignoring the horrendous near-death experience, the obstinate warriors once again assumed their battle stance in front of the despicable witch.

"Hmm, impressive. I almost forgot about the sorceress among your ranks." Vesta echoed before gesturing to the Ogre-Bat. "I grow bored of these proceedings. Tengu, would you be so kind as to exterminate these insects."

Tengu immediately showed his obedience by unleashing a Fire Breath attack against the five fighters. But not before they managed to cast Protect spells upon themselves, which consequently reduced the brunt of the raging attack. A fierce exchange then ensued between the quintet and the Ogre-Bat, turning the enclosed anteroom into a hellish battlefield battered by a flurry of powerful attack magic that pummeled both sides. Though unwilling to yield, Squall and his comrades where nevertheless easily outgunned by Tengu's superior power and stamina, even though Quistis managed to slightly tip the odds with a timely Mighty Guard summon.

"My next move shall be my last, accursed bugs." The Ogre-Bat yelled before levitating. Thin beams of dark-orange light blasted from the Demon Rod and painted a winding pattern on the smoldering ground. But before it unleashed the deathly Megido Flame, the concrete floor reversed with a sudden volcanic eruption which spewed red-hot magma on the hovering monster and sent his fiery form ricocheting against the ceiling before crashing violently on the fissured pavement. Startled by the unexpected reversal, the SeeDs caught sight of the one responsible. Behind them, the wounded Siegfried Waller stood, visibly weak but ready to fight as he clutched the mystical Soul Hunter with both hands.

"You're late!" Quistis shot out, her face flashing a mix of exhaustion and relief.

"Sorry, back pains." He quipped back with a weary smile before turning serious once again. "You guys rescue Selphie and leave this overgrown fruit bat to me."

"Hrrr! You dare challenge me, human? Are you really that tired of living?" Growled the indignant Tengu, furious after being humiliated by Siegfried's surprise attack."

"What are you, a villain from a cheap action movie? Cut the chatter and let's get on with it!" 

Enraged, Tengu quickly got up and charged headlong toward the enigmatic warrior. But another elemental summons by Siegfried pummeled the Ogre-Bat anew with a forceful blast of wind that knocked him violently against a pile of rock columns. Siegfried didn't waste any time and quickly rushed toward the fallen monster. Battle staff whirling in his hands, the former Esthar soldier leapt mightily into the air - a soaring maneuver that ended with a lightning-quick strike on the beast's lateral nerve cluster that instantly incapacitated the helpless Ogre-Bat.

"AWESOME!!!" Zell reacted as he watched Tengu's limp body crashing face-first on the floor. It has always been a fascination for him, but he never thought the experience to be this overwhelming upon seeing the debilitating Soul Crush maneuver in action.

Meanwhile, a displeased Vesta momentarily gazed irately on the fallen Ogre-Bat before turning her wrathful glare on the six warriors. The crimson-garbed witch then raised her right hand to strike Selphie with a Fira spell. The defenseless girl can't do anything but writhe in a mix of pain and frustration.

"Selphie!!!" the SeeDs simultaneously hollered. Irvine angrily flipped on the semi-auto switch of the Exeter and aimed straight on Vesta's face. "Touch her again and I swear...!"

"You'll swear what?" she snapped back provokingly. "What? You'll kill me? You'll punish me for my bad deeds? You know, why not do just that? I'm being bad. I'm being naughty! Punish me! Smite me with your righteous wrath, mighty enemies. That is... if you can."

Squall knew that Vesta was trying to provoke them to attack her head-on, most possibly to lure them into a trap the same way she did their GFs. But the SeeD commander likewise realized that further hesitations just might cost Selphie her life. The muscle on his jaws tensed in a mixture of apprehension and fury as he decided to rally his crew to one final assault.

"Don't hold back, guys! It's now or never!"

The chamber illuminated with aurum brilliance as the warriors concurrently cast Aura on themselves. However, the golden glow became tainted with crimson impurity when Squall's Aura spell emanated a weird, bright red radiance. Hardly noticing the anomaly, Irvine immediately aimed for the enemy while switching his rifle to armor-piercing mode. But before he could pull the trigger, the verdant glow of the Lionheart obscured his aim when it struck the platinum barrel of the Exeter.

"What the... what do you think you're doing, Squall?!?" Irvine furiously turned on their commander, only to be astonished when he noticed Squall's wickedly squinting eyes: it's glazed, a hellish red hue covering the whole of his eyes as if a furnace is burning right inside his head. The gunslinger reeled back in confused horror while his teammates consequently took notice of the anomaly.

"Squall... what's happening to you?" a terrified Rinoa echoed. 

Tucking the gunblade aside, the SeeD commander flashed a grin that bordered on the diabolical while staring disdainfully at his dumbfounded teammates one by one before bellowing a sinister guffaw.

"You're all so pitiful." He began. "We all are. Pretending to be the righteous protectors of the world, we never realized that the demons plaguing this planet are in fact coming from inside our selfish and self-centered hearts."

"What... what are you talking about..?" Quistis reluctantly retorted.

"Stop feigning that pathetic look of naiveté, Quistis! You know damn well what I'm talking about. Or... perhaps you're vaunted intelligence had been seriously dulled by all the times you vainly basked on the falsely blissful moments of your trysts with that hypocrite!" Squall snarled back, throwing a scornful look at the grim-faced Siegfried. "Do we really believe that we're doing all these to defend those who cannot defend themselves? Do we all seriously and sincerely subscribe to that pretentious precept?"

"Squall... you're not exactly yourself right n..."

"OF COURSE I'm not myself!" the visibly enthralled squad leader shot back at Irvine. "If I were I wouldn't pretend to be happy and content in the company of 'friends' such as yourselves. Especially YOU, Irvine!"

"What..?"

"Do you really believe that just because we all came from the same orphanage, we all belong with each other? That we're all fated to band together?" Squall then stepped closer to the gunslinger, which made the latter take a couple of steps back in anxious perplexity. "Do you really believe that together, we can take on anyone and anything? How is that possible when you don't even believe in yourself?... ... ... Remember? You can't even accomplish the simplest task of pulling the trigger of that sniper rifle."

"But... I told you... I knew she was Matron... that's why I can't do it."

"Of course you do. Only goes to show that you don't deserve to be a SeeD. If ordered, a SeeD is expected to kill even his own mother. But I'm not telling you something you don't already know."

"Now that's just a crock of sh..."

"Sounds horrible, doesn't it, Zell. We can't choose our enemies. How about you? How'd it feel like if you were given an order to murder your own family?"

"Leave my family out of this, Squall." Zell's face began to grow dark with disdain. He was nevertheless reminded of their commander's unusual condition when Rinoa held him tight by the arms.

"Oh, of course. I forgot about my gorgeous girlfriend." Squall chuckled. "The extremely attractive and irresistible Rinoa Heartilly."

"Squall..." Rinoa trailed off, wary of what her hexed lover will utter next.

"You sorry wench! Don't even think that I can't see through your mask... ... ... You're taking me for a fool if you think I don't know that you still yearn to be wrapped around that bastard's arms!"

"That... that's not true..."

"Oh sh'yeah! How far have you gone? How deep have you immersed yourself into Seifer's ridiculous visions? How adamant will you be in denying the fact that you only USED ME to get over some pathetic obsession after you were disenchanted by that deranged idiot's 'romantic dreams'?!?"

"Stop it! Just STOP IT!!!" Rinoa cried out with warm tears freely flowing down her anguished face. "You know damn well how many times I'd give my life for you! Don't you DARE accuse me of these baseless insinuations as if what happened between us meant nothing to you!"

"Easy, Rinoa." Quistis immediately interjected. "Squall's being controlled by Vesta."

"Maybe I am being controlled. But who cares? At least I got to see through all your... our hypocritical posturing, and therefore I now can do something about it." Squall shot back as he eyed the instructor intently. "Like, I finally realized, Quistis. I really should have chosen you over Rinoa. Can you ever find it in your heart to take me back?"

Without warning, Squall grabbed Quistis by the arm and forcibly pulled her toward him, smothering her with a fiery kiss on the lips that totally consumed the startled instructor. Quistis felt like melting, her whole being hopelessly enraptured by this single scene she had been picturing in her mind for as long as she can remember. Her arms flailed reluctantly, but not in an attempt to struggle. More like they were being torn between resisting her fleshly desires and welcoming the moment of passion. As Quistis' eyes gradually closed, Rinoa, on the other hand, turned her head away. Though aware that Squall is not in his right mind at the moment, she still can't bear to look at the figure of her lover engaged in a flaming moment with another woman. 

Suddenly, the instructor's eyes opened after she was struck by an abrupt realization. "No... this is not Squall!!!" her mind screamed as she vehemently tried to push herself away from the bewitched SeeD commander. Deciding that he's seen enough, Siegfried finally decided to run to her aid.

"Let go of her!" the former pacifist hollered while trying to pry Squall's arms off Quistis. He was then met by a staggering impact on the head when Squall turned on him with a powerful blow from the Lionheart's handle.

"He's out of control! Grab him!" Irvine yelled. Together with Zell, he attempted to wrestle Squall to the ground. But even after Siegfried joined the fray, they found the task surprisingly difficult as the force possessing Squall's mind likewise seemed to have augmented his strength.

"Ha ha ha ha! Look at these wretched scoundrels. Doing my job for me by fighting amongst themselves. What an amusing sight!" Vesta ecstatically blurted. Her revelry was momentarily interrupted by a soft voice from behind her.

"Have I done well, my lady?"

Vesta turned at the sight of a curly-topped old woman, one whom Selphie recognized as the proprietor of the small pub in Winhill. Though bearing an outward appearance of utter gentleness, the aged hag flashed a sinister hue in her eyes as she adoringly paid tribute to her spiteful mistress. 

"Yes, Lucresia. Very well indeed. Tainting the mightiest SeeD's Aura spell with your enthralling formula was a masterstroke. Rest assured, my loyal subject. For this deed, you shall be the highest of the high priestesses that will forever share in my glorious reign." The demigod echoed while turning her attention once more to her disheveled opponents.

"Argghh!!!" an embattled Zell cried out after Squall hit his Ehrgeiz-covered fists with his gunblade. "Squall! You gotta snap out of it!"

But the SeeD commander appeared to have totally abandoned his charge, landing a solid kick on his beleaguered comrade that sent him careening beyond the splintered doorway. Squall was about to lunge on the fallen Zell when Irvine came from behind to knock him down. As the two struggling SeeDs rolled away, a familiar voice reverberated from behind Zell.

"Never knew that idiot Squall to be a back-stabbing S.O.B." 

Zell turned to the source of the voice, who grabbed him by the arm and helped him pick himself up.

"YOU?!? What in freakin' hell are you doing here?"

"What do you think? I'm here to save your rat-ass, Chicken-wuss!"


	12. Default Chapter Title

* * *

THE FOURTH UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 12

* * *

The outer rim of the known universe is a spinning, swirling void forever bereft of life and color. Its merciless tug imprisons everything, its unrelenting downforce providing no channel of escape even for the minutest flicker of light. It bends everything, breaks everything. And in the end, those who fall in are forever chained in its bottomless chasms. Along its frightful borders, the vindictive overseer prepares to exact judgment on the unrepentant transgressors.

"Eternity is an immensely long time. But it's not nearly long enough to erase the horrible crimes you have committed against creation."

"You're grossly mistaken if you think you have finally won this war, Hyne. I will strike back. And will do so when you least expect it. Eternity will eventually prove to be your ultimate downfall, hated enemy!"

"I'm not like you, Vesta. I possess no such vain desire for the infinite holdings. Nevertheless, I am beyond the misgiving of letting down my guard. Where I am not, my legacy will linger together with the mighty faculties from which you shall never escape..."

The proud overseer then trained his flaming eyes on the quivering form of the night dweller, remembering the ferocious cast once painted on its façade, where nothing resides now but pure, unadulterated fear.

"... And as for you, repulsive nocturne..."

"Please... mercy..."

"You beg for mercy, mercy that you heartlessly denied the countless souls whose lives you unscrupulously expunged? No, Tengu. You have crossed the line where there can be no return. And you will pay for your willful participation in this unforgivable carnage. The wrathful force of the universe shall..."

"NOOOO!!! Not that! Anything but that!!!"

"... The wrathful force of the universe shall crush you under its heel. And the more you strive to break free of its shackles, the more it will turn against you." 

The spiteful conspirators screamed in unimaginable agony. But where light waves are powerless to escape, more so are mere reverberations of tormented wails that were likewise consumed together with the condemned throats that spawned them. Time became non-essential. And the passing of seasons became obscured in the midst of the interminable well of atom-crushing enmity.

But the coveted sense of finality never befell the Protector of All Protectors. In his infinite knowledge, one thing escaped his all-encompassing awareness. And that is the confidence of ultimate victory that he knows should have been his had he chose to taint his hands with immortal blood rather than the humiliation of sentencing dark imprisonment. But he had no choice. However it pains him to accept, Vesta has indeed outmaneuvered him by voluntarily stripping herself of nearly all the powers she possessed. And by the decree that he himself promulgated, he cannot smite down the defenseless lest he opposes himself and ultimately lose hold of his charge. By rendering herself an impotent immortal, Vesta assured a survival she knew to be vital in assuring a chance at coming back to fight another day.

His only recourse: an imprisonment into the black beyond. One that he knew sooner or later his vile counterpart will someday overcome with the use of her unparalleled craftiness. Hyne has never faced one as infinitely cunning in battle. And though he stood in the end seemingly victorious, he knows that he has in fact, been defeated.

Someday, Vesta will return, in a time when he has grown weary of his eternal journey. Hyne has always known that he will someday relinquish his immortality. But what he never foresaw was how Vesta will use this to ensure her victory at a time when he no longer will be.

Silently, he allowed a moment of weakness by regretting his decision. He knows he should have killed her.

And thus, Hyne has been given no other choice but one.

He reiterated "Where I am not, my legacy will linger together with the mighty faculties from which you shall never escape..."

His legacies.

Bending his spirit inwardly, the Great Lord folded his energies in intense solidity, and waited until these energies went fighting back. And with one marvelous release, Hyne unleashed his immortal powers in a flash of impossibly bright light that showered the universe with its splendor. And in the midst of the glittering essence, he hollered forth his great commission.

"You are all my legacy. The first of all firstborn, the mightiest of the mighty. Yours is the decisive turn in my battles, the culmination of my wars, and the ultimate glory of my triumph. You will comprise my children, and will be my children."

The shower of might became the stuff of legends, hurtling with unbelievable speed and unimaginable invincibility as they lay claim on the worlds below his feet. Some opted to be the shadows of light, the supernatural spirits that sought hosts whose residence into the worthy forms of the fairer gender resilient enough to contain what will eventually be known as the embodiment of the sorceresses. 

But most went the way of the free, allowing themselves to be absorbed into unsuspecting entities otherwise liberated from the notion of willful war. Ages from now, those who entrenched themselves in the frail forms of gentle canaries and unmindful fowls, protective beasts who guard the gates of men, wild beasts that choose not be bound by man, unborn infants and their scorned mothers, unassuming fauna, earth burrowers, enchanted stones, natural stones, sea serpents, indifferent demons, gallant knights of a dreamer's visions, inanimate machines, the spirit of an unsettled executioner, the restlessness of the wind, a collector's craftiness, a father bull, a sage, and even the very emotions fueling man's vengeance will rise unto their own to march along their heritage. One speck of power will entomb itself inside a mindless fire-breather to assume kingship over all of the firstborn as well as dominion over his kind. And yet one more will elevate into the greatest of all their greatness combined, choosing to hide beneath the raw strength inherent in man's heart.

All from one source, all born of one who is both father and mother. All with one ultimate purpose.

And amidst these, Hyne still felt inadequate. There's one more thing that needs to be done to assure the success of his scheme. Turning back to the nothingness, he raised his hand, from which one more fragment of his power flew off to meet a shapeless darkness that pulled itself from the void. Spectacular in its unlit resplendence, the power and the darkness fused and became one, whose eventual sentience will fashion for itself the image of a frightful creature whose purpose is to guard the gates and hold its keys. His will be the unlimited might, the power proportionate to that of his enemies. In his hands, the Great Lord entrusted the prisoners. In his mind, Hyne left his unwavering wrath.

The creator then smiled, one that may have been reflected by his creation had his mouth been visible. Staring unblinkingly into the eyes of his dark son, the Father of Light nonchalantly produced the key -- an instrument of enlightenment, with the vital purpose of serving as the medium of his ultimate design of deceit. Folding his fingers in a subtle yet absolute command symbol, Hyne directed the red and black blob to enter the tiny hole at the tip of its appendage.

"You are meant to keep their chains, dark one. However, a time will come when you will be freed of your duties. And when that time comes, your prisoners will walk free once more. Step back, and let your brothers perform the task by which their creation has been appointed to do."

* * *

**_EONS PAST_**

The Temple of the Distant Sisters. A small gathering hidden among the towering fauna bordering the infamous Tomb of the Unknown King. A site for fellowship among the discontented and the forgotten. And base of operations for a seemingly insignificant congregation whose overlooked and unassuming facade hides a far more vicious agenda.

"Behold, my sisters. A reason for jubilation."

A septuagenarian with silvery curls stood at the nexus of the wicked convention, beaming baneful glee as she stared with sheer anticipation at the hypnotic red sphere projecting hazy images of three youthful soldiers about to embark on their first mission. Three young warriors who, in their quest for a mighty ally, inadvertently unsealed the prison that holds an ancient curse.

"They have called upon the primordial force and broken through the portals of the dark Guardian. And having done so has left us a back door!"

"Priestess Lucresia, I don't see how this could benefit our redemption."

"Look closely, ye of little faith. The arrogant youths have violated the realm of the caliginous chasms. They have removed the Guardian from its post. We now have an opportunity to arrange for the second coming of our beloved Lady."

A faint resonance emanated from the crimson orb which consequently evoked strained cheers from the aged multitude. 

[i]"Too much sleep... Too weak ..."[/i]

The gatekeeper has been freed of his duty.

"It is now completed, my sisters. Call the others. We're going to need everyone's help in preparing for the return of the goddess Vesta."

* * *

_**TWELVE MONTHS LATER**_

"You're one dork I never expected to see here."

"'Dork'? Why Squall, you're starting to sound like a man after my own heart."

"Don't flatter yourself, Seifer. I may have kept my mouth shut for all those times you picked on me. But you have to admit, I've proven myself to be the better man."

"You know, Squall, I kinda liked you better before even though I get so friggin' annoyed whenever you ignore me. Right now, your senseless yapping is just so unbearably irritating! But... there is one bright side to this hilarious irony." a grinning Seifer shot back as he pulled the length of the Hyperion out of its scabbard. "I'm gonna kick your butt again. But this time, I get to do it as the good guy."

"You wish!" Squall snapped as he unleashed a lightning-fast swing on Seifer. The deafening sound of clashing metals resonated throughout the chamber as the two bitter rivals slugged it out with their gunblades. Displaying unreserved ferocity, the SeeD commander lunged repeatedly at Seifer with powerful blows. There was no denying the fact that Squall intended to murder his childhood rival.

"Rrggh!" Seifer reeled back after absorbing a vicious elbow from his opponent. Blood began to gush from his torn lower lips. "You... finally learned to fight like a man..."

"Oh, you mean play dirty? I've always known how to fight that way, dork! I was just waiting for the chance to use it on you!" Squall returned, together with a twisting swing that Seifer barely managed to block.

"Man, are you sure that's Squall?" a hurting Raijin exclaimed while clutching his right elbow. "Look at what he did to my arm!"

"Told you, man. Squall's being possessed by Vesta!" Zell frantically retorted. "And we're wasting our time watching those two! Let's go for that bitch while Squall's occupied with Seifer!" After which he dashed towards the villainous witch, with Quistis, Irvine, Fujin and Marcus following suit.

However, their sneak attack didn't escape Squall's attention. Unloading a Flare assault that knocked the wind out of Seifer, the enthralled SeeD leader subsequently went after the group with a powerful Quake spell. Though severely stunned, Irvine managed to quickly recover from the conjured tremor, only to be met by the sight of a charging Squall who seemed hell-bent on permanently incapacitating them.

"Damn!" the Galbadian native muttered while aiming the Exeter toward Squall. He only had a split-second to come up with an unnerving decision. "It's him or us..."

"NOOO!!!" Rinoa cried out in horror just as the muzzle of the silverized rifle blazed with an armor-piercing shell that shattered the ground below the possessed SeeD. As the floor underneath him collapsed, Squall quickly threw himself on to the elevated platform where Vesta stood. Another surprisingly agile maneuver followed with the bedeviled Squall casting a Tornado blast that trounced his comrades away from the devious Vesta. 

"HOPELESS..." a flustered Fujin blurted out, recognizing the tactical disadvantage plaguing their mission. While they can't attack in full force out of the concern of grievously injuring the SeeD commander, Squall, on the other hand, is pouring his all in repulsing their efforts, as his faculties have been completely taken over by the enemy. Grimly sharing the gray-haired combatant's sentiment, the others stood helplessly as they watched their leader walk alongside Vesta.

"I told you, guys..." Squall mockingly started. "... ours is a losing cause. And you know why?"

Rinoa's grief-stricken face is ashen and soaking with rivers of tears. She wanted desperately to run beside the man she deeply cares for, but the crimson glow in his glazed eyes was evoking undreamed of terrors continuously pounding on her already battered psyche. She tried to take one step forward, but was prevented from doing so by the heaviness in her heart aggravated by the spiteful words being spewed out by her bewitched lover.

"Because it's rooted on selfishness. Why do we want to spoil Vesta's plans anyway? Is it because her schemes are harmful? No, I don't think that's the real reason. Tell 'em, dork."

Seifer didn't answer. Despite his own familiarity with the devious mindset, this one under whose powers Squall was being manipulated in is in a class of its own. He's never felt anything as unnerving as this. Not even from the kind of evil he once basked in when he was deceived by the bitter hatred of Ultimecia. No, Seifer's mind echoed. He's had his share of wayward deeds. But he'd never consciously immerse himself this deep in the mud. 

Not that Squall did, anyway. The hapless squad leader was merely outmaneuvered. But that's just it. Vesta had to be cunning beyond words for her to accomplish such underhanded designs.

"What's the matter, ol' chum? Cat got your tongue? Or maybe Rinoa did." the SeeD leader tauntingly remarked. "Anyway, that's fine. I'll tell you. We want to have the power to ourselves. We hate the thought of being relegated to the 'mere mortal' level. Above anything else, you, me, and everyone practicing the 'fine art' of para-magic want to retain our elite and untouchable status. And for whom? For what?

"There could be a lot of reasons. For one, Zell here... oh, by the way, nice term you coined there, dork. 'Chicken-wuss'. Heh, you two should get together more often. 'The Dork and the Chicken-wuss'. I'll even have Selphie produce a movie about you once Vesta's done with her." 

Quistis bowed her head down.

"Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. Zell here wants to retain the power because he wants to protect his family in Balamb. Then we have Irvine who claimed that he wanted to be true to the path he chose. Quistis, what's your reason? ... Anyway, whatever it is, it all boils down to the fact that these are all merely selfish motives."

"Selfish by whose standards?" the instructor suddenly retorted, eliciting a startled look from everybody. "By yours? How can that be when you yourself said that you'd gladly pay whatever price it takes to keep the power. Remember, in Trabia?"

Squall once again drew out the Lionheart. Quistis ignored it and continued on. "Remember how thrilled we all were after rediscovering our origins, after learning that all of us: you, me, Zell, Selphie, Irvine, Ellone, and" she paused while quickly tossing a glance at the man beside her "Seifer once sat together around one table and played with each other in one backyard? Can you still remember how it felt?"

A spark of warmth flickered inside Squall's mind.

"I could be mistaken, you know. But I've always taken that to be the turning point for all of us. Whether you admit it or not, that was when the five of us really started to bond. And in spite of the hard shell you placed around yourself, there was no mistaking the signs that you stopped looking at Zell, Irvine and Selphie as mere comrade-in-arms, and started accepting them in a more profound way."

"I... I don't know what you're talking about..." the enthralled SeeD countered, but his statement was already bereft of contemptible conviction.

"So you say." The instructor continued. "But I know you. Perhaps better than anyone else does. And I saw it in your eyes, your desire to recall the long-forgotten warmth of friendship when you agreed to visit Matron's stone house after we left Trabia Garden. To tell you the truth, I was pretty surprised at the eagerness I saw in those eyes. I've never seen you so excited."

"Unnhhh... no..." Squall held his forehead as it began to throb with a pulsating headache. "Stop this..."

"You started believing then. And that same belief carried us through and enabled us to prevail over insurmountable odds when we faced Ultimecia. Remember our 'corny' battle cry? What was that...? 'Love, friendship, and courage'?"

"AAAHHHHHHH..!"

"Corny or not, it sure did it for us... And it sure did it for you."

"Stop messing with my head!!!" Squall leapt from the platform and hurriedly strutted towards Quistis, gunblade held tight in his hands.

"And right now, it also did it for me." she echoed while waving her hands at him to cast a Dispel spell which canceled out his adulterated Aura. A loud pop echoed as Squall's red glow dissipated, consequently bringing the confused SeeD commander down on his knees when the sudden disappearance of the controlling force made his knees feel like jelly.

"Well I'll be... why didn't we think of that before?" Irvine astoundingly remarked before turning his attention to the enemy. "Okay, clown-faced bitch. It's time for you to get what's coming!"

"You can have your precious leader back for all I care." Vesta smugly retorted. "He's already served his purpose."

A loud hiss suddenly rang out when Vesta raised her left hand which held a radiant tetrahedron. The arcane artifact began to glow even brighter, after which it fired silvery-gray beams of sharp light that struck Selphie and Mina Ranziel, bringing them to convulse in excruciating agony as the devilish energy began to draw upon their powers.

"SELPHIE!!! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Irvine cried out. His attempt to rescue his beloved proved an exercise in futility when the rotting vines clinging along the moss-ridden walls of the chamber slithered to life and quickly coiled around the eleven warriors. Helplessly immobile, the heroes could do nothing but watch in utter horror as the chained pair's tormented writhing slowly began to subside, leading into a final seizure before their heads limply fell down.

They felt like their minds were about to explode. Quistis, Rinoa, Zell, Irvine and Squall: their eyes wide open with tears of unimaginable terror gushing down their sweat-covered faces. Teeth gnashing violently against each other and bodies quivering with unheard of hatred, as they gazed on the lifeless body of their comrade and friend. 

They desperately hoped the opposite was true, that what they were seeing before them was an illusion. The throes of their minds which seem all ready to explode overcame them with the sight too incredible to perceive and impossible to believe. Not today, not after everything they went through together.

It can't possibly end like this! Selphie she can't possibly be dead!

Five raging pairs of eyes then turn to the source of the evil reverberation of victory.

"AT LAST! GODHOOD! MY GLORIOUS REIGN HAS FINALLY DAWNED!!!" Vesta screamed with evil joy. Above her, a purplish vortex began to swirl from the nothingness: a maelstrom that slowly grew in size to reveal a parallel universe beyond where the emptiness is mind-boggling in its lighter hue compared to the darker specks which appear to be reverse-colored stars and suns.

The Fourth Universe. An existence of reciprocal equivalence. A universe where everything is the same yet completely opposite. A realm whose infectious and toxic essences had already begun to slowly seep into the positive universe with its debilitating malevolence and all-consuming negativity. 

He's already beginning to feel the ominous loss of strength in the very fibers of his being, but Squall stubbornly refused to give up the fight. He hollered desperately to rally his charges to one penultimate assault.

"TAKE HER DOWN NOW!!! LOCKHEED!!!" to which his comrades quickly followed suit with deafening Guardian Force summons in a frantic effort to salvage the otherwise lost cause.

"LOBO!!!"

"POLARIS!!!"

"RAMUH!!!"

"TITAN!!!"

"JEREMIAH!!!"

"MEKTAUR!!!"

Vesta, flashing a most wicked smile, nonchalantly raised her crackling hands to unleash multiple Light Pillar attacks that unrelentingly pummeled the GFs and sent them retreating back to their summoners. The eleven heroes winced in frustration after seeing how the vile nihilist effortlessly conquered their mighty allies.

But just as the defeated Guardians vanished, the skies abruptly emitted a blinding brilliance, from whence four glittering projectiles hurled forth and struck the ground in a perfect diamond pattern. After which a crimson figure swirled up from the center of the four shining blades and eventually took the form of the eight-armed angel of vengeance.

"Someone violated the sanctity of my temple." The enigmatic Gilgamesh echoed as he faced the rancorous Vesta. "Huh? Was it you? Then dodge my sword!" he furthered while pulling out the Excalibur and the Masamune blades, simultaneously hurling them towards the unfazed witch. A simple gesture brought the deadly blades to a screeching halt in mid-air before shattering them into a million harmless shards.

"Blast it! My swords!!!" Gilgamesh exclaimed disdainfully. He was about to reach for Zantetsuken when a vast shadow drew his attention upward. Above them all, the frightful form of the apocalyptic Valhalla slowly descended, transforming the enormous chamber into a wasteland with its devouring death forces. As the ground began to crack open, Vesta guffawed resoundingly in deriding the hellish occurrence.

"That's right! Give it all you've got, pathetic worms!!! The more opportunity for me to show you all that my power is absolute and unstoppable!"

Violent bolts of winding purple energy blasted out of her eyes and struck the hovering mountain of cosmic matter. Though powerful in itself, Valhalla's might still couldn't begin to compare to Vesta's, as the monolith vibrated with incapacitating fury. There followed a series of crackling energy eruptions and blinding flashes of white fire emanating from the dying servitor spirit, after which the upheaval gripping its helpless manifestation culminated in a loud explosion that completely destroyed the last Guardian Force, the last hope these embattled warriors had.

"No..." Quistis silently muttered as she wept in final surrender. Is this the end? Have they finally met their match, and in the process doomed the world that depended on them for protection?

Near-total silence permeated the battlefield. Nothing can be heard, save the uncharacteristic heaves of breath of the two crimson-garbed figures facing each other.

"Mighty Gilgamesh. Pledge to me your allegiance. That... or face total annihilation."

"In your dreams, vile destroyer." The hooded Guardian loftily shot back. "In retrospect, I shouldn't be talking to you at all. I don't talk to dead witches."

"Ha ha ha ha!!! You have finally succumbed to your own pitiful delusions, hideous Guardian."

"Really? I say it is you who will finally succumb to an eternity of deathless death." Gilgamesh returned while turning his concealed face upward. "You have no idea what you just managed to accomplish."

A sudden hush followed the Guardian's ominous declaration, which was then quickly interrupted by a melange of faint sounds. 

"Foolish one." Gilgamesh grinned viciously at Vesta. "You have just broken the seal."

Gradually, the sounds became more and more discernable. The flapping of mighty wings, the pounding of heavy paws, the subtle whistling of turbulence-inducing acrobatics mixed with the telltale echoes of taut strings. And the most imposing of them all, the furious galloping sound of magnificent hooves.

Three pairs of hooves.

Gilgamesh then turned around to the majestic voice that reverberated from behind him.

"I believe you have something that belongs to me. And I want it back, right now."


	13. Default Chapter Title

* * *

THE FOURTH UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 13

* * *

The flapping of mighty wings, the pounding of heavy paws, the subtle whistling of turbulence-inducing acrobatics mixed with the telltale echoes of taut strings.

"Yes! YES!!!" a jubilant Zell shouted as he watched the six figures descend from the resplendent beam of yellow light emanating from the heavens. "Come to papa, babies!!!"

Their unexpected arrival made for a truly awe-inspiring sight. Multiple snarling reverberations of primordial fury spewed out from the three gaping jaws of the Guardian Force Cerberus, as he led his equally vengeful peers - Siren, Carbuncle, Diablos, Cactuar, and the small but menacing Tonberry - in reassuming physical forms.

Vesta, confident as ever, simply flashed an evil grin while glaring at the resurrected Guardian Forces.

"Can't you all recognize when you're already conquered? Will you still persist in your stubborn and futile desires to thwart me?" the evil destroyer exclaimed. "No matter. I have achieved my goal. And whether you live or not does not concern me anymore. Let the devouring forces of the Fourth Universe render your powers useless."

The swirling vortex, as if responding to the ancient villain's calling, spun even faster to hasten the influx of anti-matter energy. Dark light consequently radiated from the maelstrom and started to spread outward in a widening circle, as warriors and Guardians alike were forced to step back to avoid its consuming field. Until finally, the heroes found themselves pinned between the shadowy brilliance and the hard walls of the ancient chamber.

"Dammit! It's getting closer!" Zell anxiously blurted out while turning to their squad leader. "Squall, can't we do something about this?"

Squall didn't answer. Unsure of what to do, the SeeD commander attempted to cast an Ultima spell on Vesta who was standing in the middle of the maelstrom. The familiar white orb appeared, but the powers that were supposed to fuel it sputtered in the midst of the anti-matter energy's canceling effect.

"No..." Quistis muttered with defeat.

All seemed lost. Struggling frantically against utter despair, the SeeDs called upon their original Guardian Forces to junction back, hoping that their additional abilities will prove sufficient in empowering them to reverse the odds. The magic forces they unleashed were staggering, and under normal circumstances would be enough to decimate the very planet they dwell on. However, the reversing effect of anti-matter rendered their desperate maneuvers all for naught. After a flurry of devastating albeit futile spell castings, the warriors decided to cease their useless actions, as they gave in to a bitter acceptance that nothing they can do will prevent the impending carnage.

Or so it seemed. Ignoring the biting pain of his injuries, Squall slowly picked himself up and walked toward the unsuspecting Odin. Keeping himself unnoticed, the SeeD commander swung the Lionheart hard, striking the magnificent Zantetsuken blade with enough force to knock it off the Guardian's grip. He then hurriedly took hold of its brazen handles, and was consequently enveloped with searing pain as the Zantetsuken's energies which were not meant to be possessed by human hands started to suck the life out of the SeeD commander.

"What do you think are you doing, boy?" Odin's thunderous voice echoed. "That blade doesn't need to slice you to kill you."

"Squall!!!" Rinoa tried to run to her lover's aid. But the fiery Zell quickly prevented her from doing so.

"No, Rinoa. Leave him alone. It's a gamble. I think I know what he's trying to pull."

Squall's vision began to grow blurry, indicating signs of death fast approaching. But the throes that threatened to snuff his life out only served to drive him more, with a renewed sense of hope stemming from the apparent corroboration of his theory. Ignoring the imminent threat to his life, he continued crawling towards the dark beam, with Odin's sword held tight in his hands. The others held their breaths as they watched the courageous SeeD slowly being engulfed by anti-matter, until all they could see was a hazy figure of their seemingly suicidal colleague. 

To their immense surprise, Squall started to lift himself up from the ground after entering the anti-matter field. Zell balled his fists and flailed them in the air. "Friggin' awesome! It's working!" 

Squall caught a blurred glance of his brash teammate cheering furiously, but the effects of the anti-matter muffled whatever sound that was echoing from him. Nevertheless, he allowed himself a slight smile for having confirmed his suspicion. He had always wondered about Odin's true prowess, especially after one curious moment in the past when he tried to cast a Life spell on a Mesmerize beast that the legendary GF killed with his lethal blade. He wondered then why he can't resurrect the Unicorn-like creature. 

And now, he knows why. With the knowledge imparted to him by the Thunder Guardian and Doctor Odine, Squall was able to correctly surmise among other things, the true nature of Odin's evolution, and the reason why he is the most feared among all Guardian Forces. For all intents and purposes, Odin is the living manifestation of the one force in this universe that can counteract the energies of the Fourth Universe.

Anti-life magic.

However, the resolute warrior still needed to be aware of the odds stacked against him. Wielding the Zantetsuken would ensure that his powers will be functional under the debilitating energies of anti-matter. However, his might still can't begin to compare to Vesta's. So what now? Fight her head-on? Die trying? Is this stunt he's trying to pull incredibly brave or enormously stupid?

"Dumb, arrogant fool!" Bluish-white angst suddenly sprang forth from Vesta's hands, blasting out of it with a loud hiss to make its twisting path toward the young warrior. Squall closed his eyes as he crossed the Lionheart and Zantetsuken in front of him to shield himself from the Energy Bomber assault. He recoiled from the attack, his left foot scraping hard against the rocky floor. The flash subsequently cleared to reveal the stalwart SeeD, unharmed and mightily standing his ground.

His lips took the shape of a disdainful smile.

"I kinda like the odds a lot better now, Vesta..." He spoke out defiantly before unleashing an attack of his own. "FLARE!!!"

The ghostly figure of a growling, three-headed beast momentarily sprang up from the SeeD's head before a troika of stabbing solar explosions struck the vile witch and pushed her two steps backward. And before she could regain her composure, Vesta was bombarded by a wild flurry of triple Ultimas and Meteors as Squall took advantage of the multiple infusions of mystical quickness granted to him by the combined speed-empowering prowess of Cerberus and Lockheed. 

The loud reverberations of Squall's crazed battle cry resonated throughout the chamber, coupled with the ceaseless onslaught of magical attacks that unrelentingly pummeled the death-bringer. And after what seemed like forever, faint thuds were heard when the exhausted SeeD commander gave in to fatigue and collapsed on his knees. Squall allowed a few seconds to catch his breath before lifting his head up with the hope of fixing his gaze on a defeated and lifeless enemy. But the sight of a lofty and wickedly grinning Vesta only introduced the warrior to new heights of sheer despair and frustration.

"Nice try, oaf." The evil witch echoed, after which she unleashed another Energy Bomber that connected solidly on the hapless Squall.

Unable to bear the horrible sight of her beau's agony, Rinoa frantically squirmed out of Zell's hold and quickly dashed inside the anti-matter field. She nearly tripped on her own feet when the weakening effect of the otherdimensional energy suddenly disoriented her. But the former Timber revolutionist persevered, swinging her arms with all her strength to hurl the spinning, deadly blades of the Shooting Star at Vesta. To her horror, the deadly pinwheel gradually slowed to a halt as it approached the spiteful demigoddess. Vesta was just about to send the weapon on a deathly path back to its owner when she suddenly winced in mind-numbing pain.

"AARRGGHHH!!!" the startled witch hollered. "WHO DARES?!?" 

She was again struck by the mysterious attack that sent her reeling back in utter surprise. Equally dumbfounded, Squall nevertheless lifted his head to the sight of a dwarfish figure slowly marching into the anti-matter field. Despite his unassuming form, he was again able to land a debilitating blow on the pain-stricken Vesta with a simple wave of his luminescent lantern.

"Your infernal scheme shall not deter the twenty-fold millions of the grudging victims who cry out for your blood." A hollow voice resonated from the diminutive Tonberry, waving his caliginous lantern once more to deliver another painful blow against the villainess. 

Everyone's Grudge. An element of the human emotion that calls for retribution. The spirit of man's vindictiveness that does not depend on the natural forces of the world and, therefore, is immune to the effects of anti-matter. She tried not to show it, but Vesta was admittedly taken by fear with Tonberry's attacks. She never expected Hyne's spirit to take a living form symbolic of the human predilection for vengeance.

"You... actually managed to hurt me..." the vengeful destroyer blurted. "You shall die for this!"

Ignoring her threatening rejoinder, Tonberry pressed on with his assault by unleashing his mystical blade toward Vesta. The embattled enemy quickly cast a discorporating spell on herself to allow the Chef's Knife to harmlessly pass through her. Under the reverse effect of the anti-matter, the blade picked up momentum instead of losing it, and darted right through a decaying stone wall.

"You impudent worm!" Vesta grinned, feigning an appearance of fortitude. "How can you expect to win when you can't even touch me with your pathetic weapon?"

Unfazed, the midget GF nonchalantly produced another knife from his sackcloth. "That was never meant for you, gullible cretin."

"My goodness!!!" Quistis exclaimed after being startled by a blood-curdling howl that penetrated the ancient embankment. Dust and minute debris started falling from the crumbling structures to herald a tremendous explosion that destroyed the chamber's west wall. 

Amidst the smoking ruins, Bahamut hovered majestically. 

"I owe you one, diminutive ally." The Guardian sovereign quipped at Tonberry before turning his smoldering eyes toward Vesta. "I promised you a world of torment, doomed pretender. Let my burning wrath expunge your evil."

Without warning, the great Bahamut fired successive energy globules from his jaws that struck Vesta with impunity. The catastrophic onslaught was exclamated by a searing bolt that released multi-megaton levels of destructive power on the vile witch. Severely weakened by Tonberry's attack, Vesta's defenses were unable to fully resist the dragon lord's anger.

However, the otherwise incapacitating blow only served to intensify her rage. Crazed beyond comprehension, the ancient would-be conqueror detonated sizzling purple beams from her eyes that brought Bahamut to wince in tremendous agony and smashed him against an adjacent wall. Vesta sustained her attack with murderous intent, her punishing glare relentlessly tormenting the screaming GF.

"Dammit! We gotta save Bahamut!" Irvine frenziedly shouted while repeatedly pulling on the trigger of the Exeter, as Rinoa and Fujin complemented him by simultaneously unleashing their spinning pinwheel blades. However, their efforts netted nothing amidst the incalculable hatred of the destroyer, her fiery form combining with the Fourth Universe's disabling power to effortlessly repulse their congregated attacks. Multiple reverberations rang out when Seifer, Zell, Raijin, Marcus, Siegfried and Quistis were thrown against the decrepit ceiling when they tried to attack Vesta directly. Ultimately, all of them could do nothing but to watch in desperation while Bahamut's writhing started to slow down.

"All hope is lost." The observing Gilgamesh murmured.

"All but one." Odin shot back. "With their salvation comes the hope that he has finally seen the light."

"He." The eight-armed Guardian concurred. "Yes... he."

"I am merciful, wretched flare beast!" Vesta resonated while further torturing Bahamut with her hellish glare. "Submit to me now and I will spare your life! Surrender to the ultimate insult against my sworn enemy by making his firstborn into a willing slave of the one who opposed him!"

"NEVER!" the dragon lord defiantly cried out while convulsing in unbelievable torment. "It... will be a cold day in hell... before I surrender myself to you..!!!"

"Then hell had just frozen overrrRRAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Everyone's jaws dropped in pure disbelief. Not so much due to the soul-wrenching cries of the suddenly pain-gripped demigoddess... but rather to the awe-striking, steel-muscled figure that owned the powerful jaws currently clamped down tight along the width of the devilish Vesta's flame-engulfed body. Squall suddenly forgot about his ache-ridden ordeal when his unbelieving eyes beheld the proud and mighty creature standing right in front of him.

"AAYYYEEEEEEIIIIIIIIII" Hellish screams mixed with the resonance of shattering bones as the steeled jaws mercilessly closed into the baneful death-bringer. The charcoal-hued beast flexed his magnificent form after which he bellowed an all-consuming roar while hurling Vesta's body against the elevated platform. Pitch-black, viscous fluid slowly dripped from his sharp fangs as he hovered over the enemy.

"I've seen enough of the likes of you, repulsive warmonger, to last me an eternal lifetime."

"You..." Vesta retorted menacingly. "You whose infamy for corruption shall be known throughout the ages. Young boys and girls will spit on the ground at the very mention of your disgusting name."

"Yes... you are correct. But still... your demise will be my ultimate redemption."

Long, sharp claws reached out to where the bleeding witch lay, and folded its cutting edges around her battered anatomy. Though visibly overwhelmed by pain, Vesta remained silent, glaring with demonic eyes toward the lion-Guardian, Griever, as his grip started to tighten. The warriors held their breaths while witnessing black blood oozing from the demigod's swelling eyes.

Another explosion rocked the chamber, after which a long, pitiful wail bellowed from Griever's gaping jaws after his left arm was brutally severed from his shoulders. His agony was unbelievable, utterly indescribable, bringing him to reel back away from his tormentor who nonchalantly extricated herself from the lifeless claws.

"Pathetic posturing. You are so undone, Griever."

He kneeled, appearing to give tribute to the wicked force that had just rendered him one arm short. Griever lifted his head at the sight of Vesta's spiteful smirk, then lowered it again. His remaining arm then extended down to pull the shimmering Zantetsuken from the dumbfounded Squall's grip.

"I am... elated." The lion beast whispered to the SeeD. "Always... always treasure that relic around your finger."

"What? What do you..." Squall groped in confusion. However, small beads of clear fluid welled from his eyes when he discerned the message of the Guardian Force who was his role model from his early years. He became at a loss for words, unable to say or do anything as the wobbling Griever turned his gaze towards the equally weak Bahamut.

The two greatest of the great Guardians bore into each other with burning eyes. When last they faced, enmity was the order of the day on account of the opposing forces they found themselves committed to. But this time, it is evident that enmity has ceased its spiteful grip. Griever uttered curt words to which Bahamut gently concurred with a humble bow.

"My... atonement..."

"I understand..."

It was a moment that will forever be etched in the minds of these battle-weary gladiators. In one swift move, Griever raised the Zantetsuken above his head, then snapped with a sudden surge of strength to plunge its sharp blades deep inside his bleeding form, penetrating all the way to his back. Tortured groans emanated from the Guardian Force, wails of pain that gradually shifted to spiteful laughter.

"Harrr... come stop me if you can... Vesta!" He hollered as he lifted up towards the swirling vortex. Then, much to her horror, the erstwhile smug Vesta became aware of the dying GF's intent.

"No NO!!!" 

But she was rendered temporarily immobile when Griever hurled a Shockwave Pulsar spell on her just before reaching his objective. The deathly maelstrom was too much for the mighty lion-beast to endure, as he fought with all his might to resist the opposing forces tearing the very fiber of his being apart. Reaping benefit from the energies of the lethal blade impaling him, Griever poured all his strength in emitting thin, solid threads of cosmic power from his remaining appendages. He let out a magnificent roar, his whole being focused on the single Great Attractor effort that slowly but surely tugged on the outbound of the vortex to bring them closer together.

As if trying to resist, the incredible energies of the Fourth Universe fought back to keep the struggling Guardian from closing its malicious rift. Indeed, as mighty as he was renowned to be, Griever's strength still cannot begin to compare against that of a whole universe's raw power. He groaned unabashedly in sheer pain and frustration while feeling the forces rapidly slipping out of his grip. He hollered in despair as the malevolent aggression of the negative maw asserted its superiority, widening its hungry jaw and threatening to tear his remaining limbs away.

And as though feeling the Guardian's ordeal, Squall's eyes, already strained from staring at the bring darkness, felt even more tormented with the tears that began to soak them. He groped and looked around, as if trying to find someone or something that can offer aid to his role model that was now fighting alongside him. He was so close to capitulating to despair when a hollow voice from recent memories came back to admonish him. 

"Griever is... was the greatest of our kind. A being spawned not by the natural forces ruling this universe, but rather by the innate greatness of man's courage and inner strength."

He didn't exactly understand Quezacotl's remark back then. But now, perhaps born of a world's desperate plea to survive, the flood of understanding came roaring into his mind like a raging river. Griever, the living epitome of man's inner strength, courage and pride. The mightiest Guardian who ever walked the hallowed halls of the dimensional interval and the same one who went against this same strength of the human resolve when he fought against them under Ultimecia's command.

No wonder they were able to defeat him. For in truth, Griever fought a lost battle against the forces that first birthed him. He never had a chance.

But that's by no means the case today. With the understanding of the Guardian's roots came the knowledge of his eventual triumph over this apparently unbeatable adversary. Squall then turned to his comrades, who by then no longer needed his admonition. For some inner voice had seemingly whispered to them the very key to their victory.

As if on cue, the crew of eleven poured all their might in offering that one thing which seemed lost in the face of this bleak circumstance: hope. All the love, optimism, and faith they ever had to anything or anyone in their varied lives, they all channeled into the one single conviction that would eventually force the hands of fate and twist in to their bidding. Ignoring the prospect of defeat, they focused all their inner strength in believing and bolstering the power of the human spirit and man's indomitable pride in himself.

The great strength and pride of the human heart then welled out to the one it gave birth to with the aid of Hyne's spirit. And with every push they made to fuel the will to survive and the resolve that they will not be conquered, a new surge of fresh power became infused in Griever's faltering spirit.

"Come on, Griever. Close that thing! You can do it!" Squall muttered under his breath.

"Ghh Where is this power coming from?" The most powerful GF echoed as he felt the infusion of fresh energies. But he really didn't need to know, he subsequently told himself. All Griever knew is the second chance being given him to atone for his sin.

"NO! YOU SHALL NOT THWART ME, GRIEVER!!!" Vesta screamed as she glared in indescribable frustration and disbelief at the vortex that was beginning to shrink and close. The same sizzling purple bolts fired out from her eyes, and connected with impunity at Griever's quivering form.

But the lion-Guardian was not to be denied, and didn't even seem to notice the burning death-beam slowly eating away through his body. Billions of moments from an uncertain point in time, he foolishly allowed himself to be seduced by the outwardly sparkling albeit innately empty appeal of absolute power. He was thwarted, defeated by six resolute youngsters whose feeble powers were nevertheless augmented by the mighty forces that were supposed to be his very essence: their courageous hearts and indefatigable feelings for each other and for everything they held dear. They had a purpose in life. He had nothing but a hollow void.

Defeat was bitter, painful, and excruciatingly humiliating. Timeless streams passed over his ethereal form to give him an enlightening cognizance of why his fellow Guardians do what they do. The legendary Odin offered him his final hope.

"Have purpose."

And now, with the energies surging through his very being and the belief that he has finally discovered his purpose, the mighty Griever grew even mightier with the very conviction that immersed him into a well of meaning. He had no idea how powerful the concept of 'purpose' and 'meaning' turned out to be, and marveled at its sheer might as it helped him overcome the tremendous odds besetting him. Grunting in utter defiance, he followed the powerful tug he made with a bellowing laughter that drowned the shrill cries of a Fourth Universe that about to be denied its conquest. The hungry maw wailed and shrieked, its inanimate essence seemingly aware of the futility of its cause. 

Griever echoed a final pronouncement just as the anti-matter vortex collapsed on itself.

"I have purpose."

The dark light disappeared. A metallic wail echoed when the Zantetsuken wedged itself in the concrete floor. Black-gloved hands slapped a tight grip around its brazen handles.

"I swear... by this sword, Griever's sacrifice shall not be in vain."

No longer in need of its mysterious power, Squall promptly tossed the Zantetsuken back to Odin. He then turned his burning glare toward the astounded Vesta. "Your threat ends here."

"I still have the power. I still have the deathly might of Quadrum Aura crackling through my being! You fools can never hope to defeat me!"

"Say what you want, bitch." Seifer shot out. "As far as I'm concerned, you're already dead! RUSH HER!"

Quistis took the initiative and cracked her whip hard, a sound barrier-shattering maneuver that violently coiled the golden weapon around Vesta's neck. As she tugged hard to restrain the demigod, Zell, Raijin and Siegfried collaborated to pummel Vesta with lightning quick blows on her head and body.

"Graahhhh!!! Release me!!!" Vesta screamed just as Zell's fists landed a flurry of Punch Rushes on her abdomen.

"Like we're really goin' to!" Raijin shot back. "We're gonna make ya croak bad, ya know!" Another staggering blow to the head with the edge of his battle rod sent blood flying off the witch's fractured skull.

But then, Vesta's battered form unexpectedly emitted powerful magnetic pulses to throw off her tormentors. Quickly following up, the mighty destroyer unleashed multiple Tornado and Quake attacks that threw Rinoa, Irvine and Fujin off their feet.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH" the beleaguered foe suddenly screamed with infernal fury, unleashing massive energy bolts that bombarded the throng of warriors surrounding her. Marcus decisively released quick, multiple Curaga spells to recover his comrades' strengths, but his efforts were not nearly enough to sufficiently repel the onslaught.

"Damn! She's still too strong" Squall frustratedly hollered.

"Well, as I always say: when worse comes to worst..." Seifer retorted while eyeing his childhood rival, who acknowledged him with a crazed grin.

"We start playing dirty! Let's do it, Seifer!"

"After you, Squall!"

The duo simultaneously tossed Aura stones in the air, which infused them with golden-yellow rage. And before Vesta could even blink, a violently brutal tornado of whirling blade carried her aloft while inflicting debilitating Demon Slices in the process. Not nearly satisfied with his move, Seifer quickly followed up with a powerful leap and a crossing gesture with the Hyperion, drawing a fiery cross on the ground which erupted with explosive incendiary wrath that hurled the helpless witch into the air.

She was yet to touch the rocky floor when Squall quickly came up with an upward stab of the Lionheart to send her back aloft. Leaping mightily after the airborne foe, the SeeD commander unleashed the Lion Heart, consequently introducing Vesta to new concepts in pain and suffering. 

A final blow shattered a brittle matter inside Vesta's chest, which brought arcane energies escaping from her eyes, nose, mouth and ears to deliver the foe unheard of torments. All of them watched in awe as Vesta began to boil while the steadily flowing streams of energy continued to seep out of her body in the form of luminescent smoke.

Gradually, the vapors separated into hues of bright yellow, red-orange, moss-green, bluish-white, sky-blue, aquamarine, metallic gray, earth-brown, and three distinct lines of pure white. Vibrantly distinct shades which then disappeared into nothingness. However, their effects are far from being unfelt. Rinoa flashed a warm smile and held herself with her arms after she felt a familiar, empowering sensation when the brown smoke dissipated above her.

"Welcome back, you two."

All of the sudden, the party was jostled by a powerful shockwave. Behind them, Vesta's decaying body began to rise anew.

"I... will not ... DIE... UNTIL YOU ALL DIE WITH ME!!!"

"Damn! Don't you ever give up?" Squall blurted out. 

But before his Lionheart can land the deathblow on Vesta, another blade beat his to the draw as Odin lunged on the dying witch, his merciless Zantetsuken brutally slicing through her hideous body and completely cutting it in half. The party watched in horror as the dilapidated body of the evil witch squirmed, as if struggling to keep itself from succumbing to true death. Another bolt of destructive energy from the flare dragon completely and finally decided the outcome of the incredible battle by consuming Vesta's remains with its mighty non-elemental fire. Bahamut slowly descended to perch right on top of the smoldering carcass.

"As I promised. I will savor the aroma of your burning flesh."

The din quieted down abruptly, as humans and Guardians alike present in the ancient anteroom slowly gathered around the blackened matter that used to be a vile demigoddess bent on conquest. With Vesta's deserved death and the vanquishing of the threat she posed, they finally managed to sigh in ultimate relief. Squall pushed his gunblade back in its sheath before facing Odin. The two just stared at each other briefly before the legendary Guardian turned his attention to Seifer. 

Bracing himself, Seifer took hold of the Hyperion anew, fearful of a potentially dreadful battle he may have to wage against a Guardian Force who once met humiliation against him. Though his was the initial victory, Seifer wasn't inclined to underestimate a GF bent on revenge. He knows that a war-hardened spirit like Odin isn't inclined to forget the lesson of a past mistake.

But to the errant student's surprise, Odin merely grinned.

"Be grateful, that we now fight on the same side."

He then disappeared into thin air, followed by the murmuring Gilgamesh. "Damn... back to square one."

It's over. They have won. It would have been a joyous moment had they not been reminded of the grim tidings. His shoulders dropped in defeat, Irvine slowly walked alongside the unmoving form of Selphie. He cradled her head on his lap, sorrowful sobs echoing silently as gunslinger pulled his hat just above his face to hide his tears. His eyes reddening, Zell likewise knelt beside his unmoving comrade.

"We'll miss you, Selphie."

The martial artist then lifted his face up when warm hands rested on his shoulder.

"She just needs a special touch."

Irvine and Zell trained their sullen faces to the awe-inspiring sight of the Guardian Force known as Siren, who was smiling warmly on the grieving pair. Her soothing aura penetrated deeply into everyone's souls. And amidst the disheartening moment of apparent loss, the warriors were nevertheless cloaked with a reassuring feeling that seems to say that everything will be just fine. Siren signaled forth, after which Carbuncle disjunctioned himself from Quistis to join his Guardian peer. The two GFs made a series of incomprehensible gestures, emitting arcane forces that coupled with the mysterious energy brilliantly shining forth from the metallic form of Alexander perched just behind the pair. After the ritual, the three Guardian Forces then disappeared and ultimately junctioned themselves to the unconscious SeeD.

"Unnnhhh...." Selphie began to stir. Irvine smiled, and wiped the tears from his eyes when she finally opened hers. "Is... is it over?"

"Yeah." He softly replied, touching her tender lips with his fingers. "Let's go back to our time."


	14. Default Chapter Title

* * *

THE FOURTH UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 14

* * *

A year ago, Squall met a curly-topped old lady with a cat in this pub. As he stood just beyond the doorpost, the SeeD commander inadvertently recalled the moment. He didn't like her, she seemed unfriendly and even derisive when she tried to tell them off. The encounter that would have been extremely unpleasant turned to an appallingly depressing experience when he saw what looked like an apparition of the pub's original proprietor, the much loved Winhill resident named Raine. Much later, he gathered nigh-conclusive evidence that the late Ms. Raine Leonhart who then assumed the last name Loire might have been his real mother. 

Squall reached forward, touching the wooden door post with his fingers while closing his eyes. His exasperated groan echoed resoundingly when his meditation didn't reveal any remote memory of the place. If ever he was indeed born in this place, he must have left so early in his life that he never got the chance to make a memory of the place. And for some reason, that saddened him.

"I never got to thank you for saving my life." a voice resonated from behind him. Squall turned around to the surprisingly pleasant sight of Mina Ranziel.

"Oh, hi."

"Here, these are my special variety of flowers." Mina returned while handing him the bunch of pink and light-blue blossoms. "I want you to have these as a token of my gratitude."

Squall smiled, remembering the subsequent moment after that life-and-death battle against Vesta when the same ritual performed by their Guardian allies in reviving Selphie likewise aided in saving the meek sorceress from the brink of death. He never bothered to discuss it with anyone, but the SeeD commander cannot deny the warm emotion that touched his heart when Mina sought him first with a heartfelt embrace. And he couldn't be happier to see her standing before him, alive and well.

However, the grateful Mina didn't exactly reflect his silent jubilation, as she trained somber eyes on the worn down doors of the now abandoned pub. 

"So what's going to happen to Lucresia?" She asked sullenly, feeling sorry for her long time neighbor despite the horrific transgression the latter committed against her. Squall detected her regret, which made his statement a bit harder to voice out.

"She will be tried for her crimes after the joint Galbadia-Esthar task force finished rounding up the other members of their group." He retorted in referring to the misguided constituents of the Temple of the Distant Sisters. 

Mina's eyes again reflected the pity she felt for the convicted old lady. "I never really expected her to do something like this. But maybe I was wrong in not expecting it. Lucresia had always been so lonely. She used to tell me about how her eldest child made a fortune out of manufacturing cheaper but more effective HD cables, and his youngest making his mark in school. I guess she was just trying to tell me that it was understandable that they weren't calling her, but I know better. She was bored, lonely and bitter. I guess that's what happens to some elderly people when their children leave them behind just like that they tend to be led astray to do ill-advised things."

Elderly people abandoned by their children? Squall almost scoffed at the thought. What about children who were abandoned by their parents?

"I just hope the government would go easy on her."

Squall had to briefly turn away from Mina to hide the sad look on his face. Apparently, she doesn't know anything about the international code on supernatural crimes. How could he explain to her that the crime Lucresia committed is punishable by death?

He can't. So Squall opted to change the subject.

"How about you, how are you doing?"

"Me? Oh, uhh, I'm okay, I guess. I'm still having some difficulty recovering from what they did to me. But as long as nobody gives me any trouble, I think I'll get by just fine."

"Okay, good to hear that." the SeeD leader replied. "Look, I don't usually do this. But would you mind if I ask you a question?"

"No, go ahead." Mina's gentle voice came back.

"Why Why didn't you put up a fight?"

Mina felt a slight sting. Training her eyes toward the alley way that leads to the outskirts of Winhill, she recalled how, beyond the confines of the stone and brick pavement lining the town quadrangle, she lost control of her faculties and led to the senseless murder of her friend. She then turned back to Squall, and narrated everything as far as she can bear to remember. He was mildly astounded by the account of the vision of stars and the destruction of the Lunar Base that nearly cost his life and that of his comrade and his beloved. He never imagined Ultimecia's vile influence to have reached that far and touched on the consciousness of an unsuspecting innocent.

But that threat was over. He could have chosen to tell her of that sorceress from the future, and how her schemes nearly led to the destruction of everything past, present and future. But the SeeD commander relented, deeming it futile to discuss a threat long vanquished. Instead, he simply laid his consoling hand upon the sorceress' shoulder.

"You can stop living in fear now. I can tell you about all those things that happened in the past, but I'd rather not. Just suffice it to say that everything will be alright from this point on."

She can't explain why, but somehow Mina felt at peace after hearing Squall's utterance.

"Thank you. I owe you and Balamb Garden much."

Squall retorted with another smile before turning his attention back to the pub. His silence was immediately noticed by the flower girl.

"Oh, looks like you wish to be alone."

"No, it's not that." Squall replied. "There's just something I need to settle here. Something personal"

"Well, whatever it is, I wish you godspeed." She came back with the sweetest smile she ever mustered. "I'll be on my way then. Thanks, again, for everything."

"Take care of yourself." Squall echoed. "We'll call you."

Finally deciding to turn the knob, the SeeD slowly pushed the creaking door back, taking note of the splintered arm rail destroyed during their past scuffle with the Tengu beast. He then proceeded upstairs, where he was met by the surprising presence of the man whom he believes to be his father. Laguna turned around when he heard Squall's foot steps.

"Hey, there you are." The Esthar leader exclaimed before walking in front of the fireplace. Squall stood silently, observing Laguna intently as the latter kneeled beside the soot-covered furnace. The silence that permeated was deafening, almost dreadful. Neither one knew what to say next, as if suddenly forgetting the reason why they agreed to meet here in the first place. And being the more extroverted of the two, Laguna reacted in accordance with his character by being the first to break the ice.

"First time we kissed was right here." Laguna reminisced. "She was looking at me, and I was looking back at her. She looked so pretty, with those mesmerizing eyes the same eyes that you have" 

Squall allowed a modest smile. He liked the fact that he came after his mother more than the man before him.

"Anyway, there I was, shivering like crazy with the flu. Raine went beside me to check my temperature. I tell you, the way she looked at me, I felt hotter than the fever ever made me feel. So what's a guy supposed to do?

"So I brought my face closer to hers. She didn't say a thing. I don't know why, but she was just there, looking at me. So I kissed her Then she slapped me."

Squall's hand moved to his mouth to muffle a chortle.

"I was like 'Hey! You're the one who's coming on to me!' But then she just laughed, and I got the joke. Actually, I got way more than just that. And then there was you"

The SeeD leader's face then lost its jovial expression, assuming a more familiar dark façade, coupled with a faint scoff if displeasure. He threw a skeptical look at Laguna, who didn't appear to notice his expression.

"Wait a minute was it on that night or the night after, when I gave her the ring? Oh well, doesn't matter."

"You really have a way of romanticizing your exploits." Squall interrupted. "Whoop, bang! And then you leave."

He almost regretted those evidently accusing words.

"On the contrary," the older man came back, "that was the night when I decided I would never leave Winhill anymore. When I realized just how much I love loved love Raine, I threw everything away. All my dreams and aspirations, about journalism, traveling, everything. Out the window."

Pulling his hand out of his pocket, Laguna then locked his eyes on the shimmering trinket wrapped around his ring finger. A streak of dull pain consequently cut a swath across his chest, but not something that he didn't expect.

"And in its place was a simple pair of platinum rings: one for me, one for Raine. You'd never believe what I had to go through to travel from here to Deling City and back, in just one day, only to get those rings. But I guess it's true what they say love makes the world spin."

"'Go round'." Squall interjected, as his face assumed another smile. "I believe the adage says 'go round' instead of 'spin'."

"Ahh, whatever."

"But I guess I know exactly how you felt." The SeeD commander followed up. "Of course, it wasn't as grand a scale as yours. But I do remember being so carried away that I actually felt I was walking in outer space"

"Well, good for you, Squall." Laguna enthused. His statement was followed by a long interval of silence before Squall spoke out once more.

"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if Ellone wasn't abducted by the Estharians?"

The very resonance of that thoughtful question inevitably brought the president of Esthar to a somber contemplation. Silently, he wished that he never had to listen to something that will only awaken the bludgeoning load of guilt that had been making its dwelling inside his heart all these years. Laguna has had his fill of the torment, of the stormy ordeal that lashed on his soul whenever he considered the possibility of how things could have been different. 

"I think about it all the time." He answered softly, the grief now slowly becoming manifest. "Who knows? Maybe Raine would still be alive. Maybe I wouldn't be president of Esthar now"

"And maybe we'd all be together." Squall interjected, eliciting a somber reaction from Laguna.

Father sullenly gazed at his son. His heart overflowing with repentance, his mind racing to find the right words to describe how remorseful he had been and still is, for that erroneous and ultimately fatal decision he made nineteen years ago.

"Squall I'm so sorry. Maybe maybe I shoulda just went home with Ellone. Maybe I should never have taken on that offer by the Adel resistance group."

The SeeD didn't answer, opting instead to slowly make his way closer to Laguna. Standing in front of his estranged father, Squall pulled a deep breath while training his gaze beyond the open window, looking at nothing in particular. Laguna stared with repentant eyes at the eighteen year old man in front of him. When Squall looked back at him, he lowered his head, as if waiting to be slapped with scornful remarks that he believes he deserves for that wrong decision. It took a great deal of effort for Laguna to raise his eyes again to meet his son's. But when he did, a most unexpected sight met him.

Squall was smiling. This time, it was sincere, genuine. His eyes smiled along with his lips.

"Everything happened for a reason." The young warrior started anew. "We may never live long enough to fully understand it, but I guess that's all immaterial now. We're both here, now. In this place where it all started. I just get so tired of looking back and searching for how things could have been different and who I should blame for what happened. But in truth, we were all simply victims of the unfortunate circumstances that came with the past crisis. The whole world was shaken by it, and countless lives changed. General Caraway lost his daughter's trust, Headmaster Cid almost lost his wife, and my comrades lost their parents. I examined all of them and realized that I'm not the only one who suffered."

"Squall"

"I just thought that there's at least one suffering that I can do something about. In our case well, everything started here, in this very home. The love between you and Ra. between you and mom took its roots here and then went forward. The future may not have turned out as bright. But that future has already passed. It's now part of the past."

Bringing his eyes up once more, Laguna stared at Squall quizzically. The SeeD then discerned his father's questioning look, subsequently coming back to it with the smile that he's beginning to get used to doing.

"I think it would be fitting for all the pain and suffering to end here as well."

Laguna smiled back. And for the first time in nineteen years, he felt the oppressive load of guilt in his chest disappear. He reflected the peaceful sentiment back to the SeeD commander; the son whom he never knew existed until recently, his firstborn who now stands before him as a man. A strong and accomplished man. He was about to give Squall a long-overdue hug when the latter jerked in reaction to his watch's alarm.

"Oh shoot! Damn, totally forgot. I'm supposed to meet Rinoa at Edea's house in one hour. How can I possibly make it on time now?"

"The presidential shuttle is standing by just beyond the town limits. If you want you can tell Kiros and Ward to give you a ride there."

"Geez, thanks. You're a life saver!" Squall exclaimed while running for the stairs. "I'll see you 'round"

Halfway down, Squall momentarily stopped to complete the sentence in his mind. 

" Dad."

* * *

A quarter before two in the afternoon. Quistis brushed her wristwatch to rid it of the dust particles clinging along its clear, crystal face. She's still got fifteen minutes to do the thing that's been nagging on her for the last couple of days.

The golden-locked SeeD sighed in apparent melancholy, questioning herself of the wisdom of this rather drastic measure she plans to undertake. She threw a brief glance at the electronically locked door in front of her with her sullen eyes, then checked her watch once more. Dribbling her fingers on her lap, Quistis ultimately decided to get it over with. Drawing a deep breath, she then stepped towards the door, consequently triggering the photoelectric sensors that slid it open.

"Hey, your up?" she remarked upon seeing Siegfried buttoning his maroon coat. "Wow, that was a fast recovery."

Siegfried flashed a relaxed grin. "Yeah, thanks to Soul Hunter there." He quipped while pointing to his battle staff. "But please don't tell the doctors about it."

"Huh? Oh" the enlightened instructor voiced out. "Okay, I guess that completes the eight elementals." She then remarked upon catching Siegfried's hint regarding the weapon's Holy-based healing ability. But her amazement didn't last long, as her disposition fell to a prompt silence that the pacifist immediately noticed.

"So, uhh would you like to go for a walk?"

Minutes later, the pair was already chuckling at the same time while watched a little girl profusely tugging at her mother's gown, vehemently insisting her to buy a Gysahl Green. They continued their leisurely trek until they cleared the area of the shopping center en route to the transport pod station in front of the city entrance.

"Well, so how do you find the city? Magnificent, isn't it?" Quistis spoke out to break the silence. 

"Uhh, Quisty I used to live here, you know."

"Oh Oh yeah!" Quisty blurted out while blushing. "Heh silly me."

Another stretch of silence intervened, with both Quistis and Siegfried unsure of what to say next. Growing uncomfortable of the silence, the pretty instructor opted once more to break the ice. 

"How long did you live her anyway?" Quistis asked passively. She was nevertheless mildly startled with her companion's abrupt and rather irrelevant rejoinder.

"Okay, spill it."

"Wh-What?"

"Let's hear it. I know you have something important to tell me, so"

Quistis lowered her head, and struggled hard to keep her emotions at bay. Siegfried already knows her enough to read through her mannerisms. How can she possibly do something like the one she had been planning to do? She then opted to remain quiet throughout the time they took a transport pod westward, subsequently getting off at the drop point near the Airstation. After dismounting from the pod, Siegfried lagged behind, staring with adoring eyes at the gaiting form of the Balamb instructor as she made her way towards the airport.

"Well?" He subsequently blurted out.

"Excuse me?"

"C'mon, Quisty. I know you want to tell me something."

Quistis stopped to face Siegfried squarely while he walked alongside her. Sadness was undeniably written in her eyes. Finally, the instructor started to talk amidst heaving yet another deep breath.

"I I can't see you anymore."

" Okay" He softly responded.

"'Okay'? Is that all you're going to say?"

The FH resident paused for awhile before returning with an apparently totally irrelevant answer.

"I used to be engaged, you know"

"Really..?" Quistis quipped back, her interest piqued anew. "Um what's her name?"

Siegfried eyed her firmly before coming back with a reply. "Geraldine."

"Okay" Quistis mumbled her reluctant reply. "What happened to her?" 

The former soldier cleared his throat before continuing. "She was my platoon commander in Squad Pi Alpha back in the Esthar army"

"Squad Pi Alpha?" The SeeD interrupted. "That's the covert task force that tried to assassinate President Deling five years ago." Her remark evoked a surprised reaction from Siegfried.

"Hey, that was classified information. How'd you know about that?"

Quistis didn't answer, opting instead to swing back to their original topic. "Forget it. Anyway, you were saying?"

"I was saying oh yeah. Geraldine she was so intelligent and intensely dedicated to her duties, yet radiated a kind heart that no one even once missed. She was a lot like you, actually."

" Was?"

Siegfried crossed his arms and stopped walking. "Yeah. If you know about Squad Pi Alpha, you're probably aware that the mission suffered massive failure during that assassination attempt. Geraldine she was one of the casualties."

"Oh I'm so sorry"

"But before she passed away, she made me make a promise." The former Estharian soldier trailed off before continuing. "You see, like me, she was what you could call a 'disciple' of teacher Dobe. Because of his teachings, we were both converted to the concept of pacifism and later became its most intense advocates

"I still remember the day quite clearly. Prior to carrying out our mission, Geraldine and I promised each other that that would be the last. That we'd request for honorable discharge and then get married I never thought that being 'the last' carried an entirely different meaning in her case."

Quistis just looked at Siegfried sympathetically. He responded by staring back at her with an almost forced smile on his lips.

"Anyway, there I was, holding her bloodied hand inside the airlift unit that carried what remained of our platoon out of Galbadia. Even at the brink of death, she was still adamant about our plans. I felt like a stupid dork, still professing my promise, not realizing that she had already stopped breathing."

A stretch of tense silence then followed his last utterance. Quistis didn't know what to say and was totally unsure whether to attempt a consoling speech or just continue listening to her beau. In the end, she simply abided by her instinct, and rested a sympathizing hand on his arm.

"Siegfried"

"Oh" the FH resident turned towards the SeeD. "Don't worry. I think I've already gotten over it. But Geraldine she was perhaps one of the most wonderful things that ever happened to my life. You see, by conviction I am a very strong believer of pacifism. But additionally, adhering to its principles is also one way of cherishing her memories. So now perhaps you can understand where I'm coming from."

"Yes, I do." The instructor nodded. "I can understand it. And believe me when I say that I fully respect your sentiments. But" she paused, firmly fixing her sad eyes at the man in front of her. "I cannot live like this. We both can't."

"I know" He replied softly.

"Sieg, let me just tell how wonderful it has been to have someone to hold me, to listen to me whenever I feel like talking, and just to be there for me when I need someone. I once witnessed a friend of mine risk life and limb and never considered his own safety in saving the woman he loves. Back then, I felt like a pathetic fool, asking myself if someone would actually do the same thing for me. And when you did, well you just don't know how happy it made me.

"But the fact is: this is not your life. And your life is not mine. I live a life of endless battles while you, your principle demands that you stay away from the very precepts that govern my life. I'm extremely elated by the fact that you'd push them all aside just to stay with me. But we both know how it will eventually end up."

Siegfried didn't answer. Much as he hated to admit it, Quistis was right on the mark.

"Siegfried, you are a man of strength. A man of honor and conviction. I admire you so much because of that. And I definitely would hate to change the man whose very basic trait brought me to love him. I won't have it. If you're going to change, let it be because of some factor that would completely reverse your way of thinking. Setting aside your ideals just so we can be together is immensely elating but it's also not real. It's a lie. And we can't go on living a lie. It would only backfire on us when the time comes."

She folded a finger and ran it down the corner of her left eye. And for a moment, Quistis felt as if she had just run into a solid brick wall. She knows what to do and what to say next. But despite her firm conviction, new throes of doubt suddenly shot forth from her objecting heart. A decision to voice out the next sentence playing in her mind would amount to the end of their short-lived relationship. A relationship that brought her the contentment she had been seeking.

And a relationship that she knew ultimately to be based on a critically unstable compromise.

It was a no contest.

"Let's end this now for both our sakes. It would only be much more painful for me if we try to delay the inevitable. I'd rather lose you now than at a time when I can no longer bear to lose you I'm so sorry"

"Quistis I have already fallen for you" Siegfried retorted. A soul-rending repartee that almost shattered the instructor's heart.

"Please stop that" she snapped while turning away from him. Melancholy then aggravated to dreadful grief when she caught sight of the Ragnarok slowly descending atop the Airstation's landing pad. Deeming that this is indeed the final moment, she turned her weeping face back to Siegfried.

"I called them earlier to come pick me up." Quistis said with a false chuckle. "Isn't it astounding how modern technology made this planet seem so small?"

Training his sight upward, Siegfried caught sight of a speeding pod traversing the green transport tube above them. His mind, however, was evidently occupied on a different thought. 

He didn't want to show it, but every fiber of his being is screaming its desire to feel Quistis' body pressed tight against his for the last time. He wanted to shout, and let the whole world know just how much he is hurting at this very moment. But eventually, the very words that have been furiously seeking release from his tormented heart became hopelessly entrapped inside his anviled chest. He will be denied expression, the same way he will be refused happiness in the company of the woman he loves.

Siegfried looked back at Quistis. His mind cried out 

"I love you, Quistis Trepe."

And her heart heard.

"Thank you, Sieg." She quietly replied, running her soft hands along his ashen cheeks before finally turning away.

A few harrowing moments later, the instructor reached the main entrance of the Airstation, where Irvine and Selphie waited patiently for her. The pair, who already had an inkling of the sad event that had just transpired, was consequently rendered uncertain of how to approach their distraught comrade. Quistis tried to straighten her facial cast just before they came within earshot.

"Oh well..." The instructor sighed heavily as she passed her two teammates by. Her trembling voice didn't escape Irvine's attention. Momentarily glancing at the FH resident who was by that time already walking away, the gunslinger then reached for the instructor's hand to pull her toward him. Her sobs poured out in torrents when her SeeD colleague wrapped his sympathizing arms around her.

"It's okay" Irvine muttered as Quistis wept profusely on his shoulders. Selphie consolingly rested her left hand on the instructor's back. 

"Quisty we're here for you."

"I know" She retorted amidst the sobs. "It's just that well story of my life."

After a few seconds, Quistis gently pushed against Irvine while taking note of the dampness on his coat. "Oh look at what I did to your jacket"

"Don't worry. What good is my coat anyway if it can't wipe away your tears?" He kidded with a smile while gently squeezing her hand. Though grief-stricken, Quistis can't help but chuckle back at her comrade. She then took a moment to wipe the tears flowing down her cheeks before forcing a strained smile. 

"Come one, guys. Let's go home."


	15. Default Chapter Title

* * *

THE FOURTH UNIVERSE

CHAPTER 15

(Conclusion)

* * *

"There's another one! Wow! That's the brightest one so far."

Rinoa's fascinated gaze stayed aloft long after the shooting star disappeared from the night sky. Unwittingly, her left hand slithered and wrapped around Squall's folded legs. It was way past midnight, and they should have been picked up by Irvine and Selphie hours ago. But not that they mind the tardiness, as the two were deeply immersed in this quiet moment of solitude, doing the thing the two of them love the most: watching shooting stars in the middle of the vast flower field bordering their Matron's stone house. 

Feeling an abrupt touch of chilly air on his face, Squall took off his black jacket and put it around Rinoa's shoulders. She looked back at him and smiled, a warm and loving gesture that brought immense comfort in his heart.

"Squall, I'm so happy for you." Rinoa opened. "It's so good to know you and Laguna have settled everything."

"Yeah" the head SeeD softly replied. "It feels kinda strange, though."

"Strange? Why's that?"

"I'm not sure. I'm excited and at the same time a bit scared too. I don't know what will happen after this. Like, what am I supposed to call him now?"

"'Dad' would be good."

"You're kidding, right? Do you know how it feels to suddenly discover that your father is still alive? I feel so uncomfortable"

"I'll bet" Rinoa trailed off before settling into an uneasy silence. Her suddenly gloomy disposition didn't escape her lover's attention.

"Oops ahh sorry" Squall stuttered in apology after realizing that their topic reminded Rinoa of the unsettled animosity still permeating between herself and her father. He tried to grope for words that might relieve her of the emotional burden, but Squall just can't find the right words. It was Rinoa herself who subsequently broke the ice of inquietude.

"You know, I was really only using his job as an excuse."

"How come?" Squall returned, his eyebrows meeting together in puzzlement.

"I don't know maybe I was just so mad at him that I have to present a valid reason to account for how gravely I felt."

"I don't think I understand."

"I'm blabbering. Sorry. What I mean is it's not really his position in Vinzer Deling's regime that angered me. It's more like your typical father-neglects-daughter-so-daughter-rebels thing."

Finally, he thought, she's opening up her feelings about her father. Squall remained silent to allow Rinoa to continue.

"It was my fifteenth birthday. I wasn't really expecting to celebrate it with him since he had already stood me up for more times than I can remember. But on that morning, he gave me a really wonderful gift."

"What was it?"

"My own personal issue Triple Triad card. You've seen that one, right?"

Of course, Squall retorted in his mind. Though he didn't dare tell her the truth that he lost that card in Balamb a year ago when he tried to win the Gilgamesh card from Quistis.

"Anyway, there was that card, together with a note from my father that said he'd pick me up at 7 so we can spend some time together. But he never showed up as usual."

"And you got angry only because of that?"

"What do you mean 'only because of that'? It was my birthday, for cryin' out loud!"

"Okay, okay. Chill." Squall retorted to the apparently incensed Rinoa. "I'm not going to lecture you on giving him a break. But I just think it's been a fairly long time already. And things are different now. You once said we shared the same burden of having irresponsible fathers. In a manner of speaking, you're right.

"But we'd be nothing more than equally irresponsible children if we're going to leave it at that and don't do anything about it. You still love him, don't you?"

" Of course I still do." Rinoa reluctantly answered. "But it's not that simple, Squall."

"It doesn't have to be. I don't know about you, but I'm not about to continue on with my life while holding a grudge on someone I care about."

She bowed her head and sighed. "Y-Yeah it does get pretty exhausting"

Gently lifting her head up by her chin, Squall lovingly landed a tender kiss on Rinoa's lips before staring at her adoringly. Suddenly, everything became clear for the former Forest Owls rebel when her lover planted another kiss, this time on her cheeks. When he looked back at her, she was already smiling.

"Okay I'm gonna go talk to him."

The intimate moment was abruptly disturbed by a loud howl coming from a short distance. Soon, Rinoa and Squall were annoyingly gawking at a pair of six-armed monsters.

"Death Claw alert!" Rinoa exclaimed.

"Dammit, I'm not in the mood for this." Squall shot out before summoning a GF. "Quezacotl, sic 'em!"

The azure-clad SeeD quickly followed suit with a GF summons of her own. The creatures reel back helplessly as they were mercilessly pummeled successively by the Thunder GF's lightning wrath and the burning assault of the awe-inspiring dragon lord, Bahamut. It didn't take more than a minute for the pair to vanquish the stray beasts.

"Heh, shoulda known better than to hang out here without Diablos." Rinoa remarked with a giggle.

Squall then wondered out loud. "Come to think of it, where is that guy?" Momentarily closing his eyes, the SeeD commander immersed himself in brief meditation before turning his attention back to his girlfriend.

"Nope. I checked the others' junctions, and Diablos isn't with anyone of them either. What happened to him?"

"Don't worry about him. Diablos is just taking care of unfinished business." A hollow voice rang out from behind them. Turning around, the two astounded SeeDs marveled at the magnificent form of Quezacotl hovering above them. But this time, he was not alone.

"It's a pleasure to finally converse with you under easier terms, noble warriors." The King GF, Bahamut thundered.

Rinoa couldn't believe her eyes and ears, as she became tremendously enraptured by the breathtaking presence of the two Guardian Forces whose manifestations, as far as she understood, should only be reserved for battles. Squall's reaction was less involved, on account of his earlier experience of convening with the Thunder Guardian.

"Hey So uhh is this going to be a regular event from now on?" 

"No, I'm afraid not, Squall. With Vesta's ultimate demise, the vibrations within the dimensional interval have begun to normalize gradually. I think this is going to be our last chance to congregate in this manner." Quezacotl explained, promptly followed by Bahamut's majestic resonance.

"Your courage knows no bounds, young warriors. And your compassion is without limit. I have been fully accustomed to the tradition of Guardians being the ones who protect their human hosts. But in the recent case, it was the complete opposite." 

Rinoa heaved an even deeper breath as Bahamut continued. "I am overwhelmed. I suppose that expressions of gratitude are in order. So thank you I couldn't have been more correct in allying myself with you and your comrades."

"Thank you" The SeeD commander retorted. He's not exactly sure how to react in the face of this proud and at the same time humbling moment of being exalted by no less than the sovereign of all servitor spirits. Unsure of how to react, the SeeD commander's right knee reluctantly started for the ground. The King Guardian nevertheless dissuaded him.

"Do not bow before me, noble warrior. I myself am a servant like you."

The moment stood still for Squall and Bahamut, as they both regarded each other with unparalleled awe and respect. One completely awash by a mixed feeling of pride and humility for having been exalted by nothing less than the sovereign of all Guardian Forces, and the other astounded at the sight of a mere human whose courage surpassed the greatness of the firstborn. They honored each other with the utmost respect and admiration regarded by one warrior to another.

"Anyway, that's all we wanted to say." Quezacotl intermitted. "Now if you'll excuse us"

"Quezacotl, wait!" Squall hurriedly called forth. "I have one more question if it's okay with you."

"Go ahead."

"It's about Griever. How"

"You wonder about Griever's participation in the final act?" Bahamut interjected. "You shouldn't. His apparent resurrection was no different from that which made possible the return of Cerberus, Siren and the rest."

"Yeah, but all of their cases are likewise puzzling at the very least. I really thought they were dead, but"

"By now you should already know that Guardian Forces cannot be confined under the shackles of true death. We are immortal, being the great Hyne's lasting legacy on this planet."

"Yes, I know. But I saw with my own eyes how they were killed. And we weren't able to revive them because they weren't junctioned to us when Vesta destroyed them. So what really happened back there?"

"We ourselves didn't know this until recently. Apparently, there was another world that escaped all our awareness, a dimension that for the purpose of the last events served as a temporal stasis plane for the Guardians. Since it was previously unknown, it didn't have a name to speak for, so I just called it the Death Well.

"We're still quite unclear as to the exact nature of this place. But Jeremiah earlier discovered that there is a nexus between the Death Well and the physical plane. Your name for that place is the Great Salt Lake. The energies of the Death Well resonate through the physical world in that location, in the process spawning an assortment of undead creatures."

"And..?"

"Recently, a foreign element wielding immense, malevolent monster energies came in contact with the nexus. You know this element as the Crystal Pillar. This object's unique mystical vibrations reacted with that of the Death Well's, eventually constructing a pseudo-life form whose incredible powers reflected the violent essence of the Crystal Pillar and the boundless supernatural forces of the Death Well. I understand you recently battled this beast to a stand-off."

"Hades Sentinel" Squall mumbled. "Hades Sentinel the underworld sentry. So that's where it came from."

"So what's the connection between the monster and the other Guardians?" a mesmerized Rinoa finally joined in.

"Hades Sentinel was not called as such for no reason. It came into being as a consequence of the real result of the interaction between the Death Well and the Crystal Pillar: the creation of a preternatural 'degeneration zone' that somewhat functioned as the Well's only portal. It came to be known as the Seal. However, in the perception of mortals, it manifested itself as a pseudo-Guardian who went by the name 'Valhalla.'"

"Oh" The raven-haired SeeD voiced out in recollection of the GF they acquired from Hades Sentinel. Bahamut then opted to pick up from Quezacotl.

"It was purely providence that made for the appearance of the Seal around the moment some of our kin where 'killed'. I guess it is fate's way of ensuring the failure of Vesta's mad schemes. When she destroyed Valhalla, she inadvertently broke the Seal, in the process releasing the essences of the lost Guardians trapped within the Death Well."

"Zell was right." a flabbergasted Rinoa remarked. "It is awesome."

"However, there is a grim trade-off to this." Quezacotl began anew. "The Death Well dispersed together with the destruction of the Seal. Having nothing else to hold its essence back, it effectively radiated into the outside world, completely dissipating in the process. You pretty much know what this means."

"The Guardians don't have a temporal rest plane anymore, or whatever it is you call it." the SeeD leader surmised.

"Correct." Concurred Bahamut. "The resurrection of the slain Guardians has been relegated to an event which can never happen again. The next instance an unjunctioned GF dies, he will remain 'dead' forever, in a manner of speaking."

"Well actually, that only means the spirit of the GF will be confined to the dimensional interval, with the ability of coming back to the material plane forever denied him." The Thunder Guardian added. 

"So, does that mean Griever is gone forever?"

"As far as you're concerned, yes. But needless to say, it is not the same in our case."

"Yeah" Squall trailed off while looking at his ring. "At least he redeemed himself in the end."

"As it should be, noble warrior." Bahamut seconded. "In truth, even at the moment of bitter salvation when we were forced to face Griever in that battle against the sorceress, I had no doubt in my mind of his eventual repentance."

"Why is that?" Rinoa asked.

"Because it was his destiny." The dragon lord declared with authority. "As is the destiny of all the servitor spirits who survey their territories in the physical realm. You should know what it means to be destined for a greater cause, warriors. In the same manner that your SeeD was created for the main purpose of vanquishing the sorceress, we, the firstborn, were also created to obliterate the threat posed by the evil demigoddess. And like all of us, Griever was created for that ultimate purpose. A purpose for living that in the end, he fulfilled with irrefutable honor."

"Oh" Rinoa echoed in amazement. Squall, on the other hand, merely smiled. He can't deny the happiness he felt for having learned of his hero's vindication.

Bahamut then levitated closer to the two SeeDs, spreading his mighty wings in a display of regal grandeur.

"Warriors, don't let Griever's sacrifice be in vain. We will be with you as your allies for as long as you need our aid. But the sanctity of the passing of time and the safety of all who breathe will always be entrusted in your hands. This is not the end, but merely the beginning." 

And with the final reverberations of Bahamut's august voice, the two Guardian Forces began to fade back into the darkness. Until finally, there were only Squall and Rinoa, still staring at the point in the sky where Bahamut and Quezacotl vanished. The disappearance of the GFs subsequently gave way to the roaring arrival of the Estharian space shuttle.

"Squall, should we tell them about what just happened?"

"Of course! We are a team, you know."

* * *

"Should do this more often." Zell thought to himself while gawking admiringly at Balamb Garden's resplendent central edifice, with its assortment of vibrant lighting and sentinel beams that made for a truly spectacular after-dark view from the training center terrace, otherwise known as the Secret Area.

Swinging his attention to his hands clad with crimson fighting gloves, the Balamb native slowly closed them to a fist, flexing his forearm muscles in the process. He wondered quietly, pondering intently about the future and the number of times he will be required to utilize these same hands in beating his enemies either to submission or to extinction.

"I never expected to see you here." Zell promptly turned around to see who just came by, which turned out to be his Galbadian colleague, Irvine. "The cafeteria team didn't leave any hot dogs for you again?"

"Yeah, kinda." He chuckled. "How's it goin'?"

"Same ol', same ol'" The gun wielder nonchalantly answered. His eyebrows drew closer when the usually hyped up Zell settled to a silent disposition. "Hey, what's on your mind?"

Letting out a fatigued groan, Zell moved to directly face Irvine before responding to his inquiry. "This is never going to end."

"What is?"

"The fights. The battles." He returned with a whining pitch. "When we beat Ultimecia, I really thought that was it. I mean, we almost died fighting her." He paused for a short while before continuing. "Who'd think an experience like that can still be topped? I didn't think so, until Vesta suddenly popped out from nowhere."

"Yeah, I think I can see what you're driving at." Irvine agreed. "Where there's two, who's to say there won't be a third?"

"Exactly." Zell shot back while resting his head on his forearms.

"Well, here's what I think: I suppose that's the very reason why we're here in the first place. Why we are who we are."

"What are you saying that we're destined to beat the crap out of every would-be-world-conqueror mook? Is that it?"

"Yeah, something like that" Irvine retorted with a wry grin. "You have a problem with that?"

"No, not really well actually, yeah, I have a slight problem with that." Zell quipped, turning around to rest his back against the wrought iron railing. "To most of you, I may look brash and impulsive who's almost always looking for a fight whenever I get the chance. But someday someday, I want to have a family of my own too, you know."

"You? A family?"

"Hey, what's so incredulous about that?"

"Nothing" Irvine answered. "Anyway, if it's going to make you feel any better, listen up. I just got off the phone with Headmaster Cid in Esthar."

"And..?"

"And he said Galbadia and Esthar agreed to make an allotment in their yearly budgets for the purpose of financing the continued operation of Balamb Garden."

Zell's jaws dropped.

"My sentiments exactly, Zell my friend. At least now we're guaranteed that someone will be taking over for us when the time comes for us to... ugh, God forbid... retire."

Zell's jaws remain dropped.

"Glad to see you're taking this news well. Oh hey..!" Irvine blurted out upon seeing the arrival of Squall, Rinoa, Quistis and Selphie.

"WHOO-HOO!!! You guys heard the news?" Selphie jubilantly exclaimed before she took notice of Zell's expression. "Oh, you just did."

"This is indeed great news." Quistis followed up. "Now we don't have to worry about Garden shutting down and all."

"So guys, what do we do now?" Rinoa echoed while turning her attention to Squall.

The SeeD commander grinned widely. "Uhh well? What do you think? Let's party!"

Everybody's jaws dropped. Rinoa slowly stepped away from Squall and then whispered to Quistis.

"Did he just cast Aura on himself again?"

The group's festive mood was interrupted by a series of heavy footsteps. Everyone fell silent, and Zell frantically held his jaws up when he saw the trio casually approaching them. Squall was the first to step forward when the newcomers came within earshot.

"Hey guys Seifer."

"Squall."

The sudden arrival of their former enemy and his charges inadvertently brought forth an atmosphere of indifference in the middle of the otherwise jubilant gathering. Both parties remained quiet, unsure of what to say next. Rinoa then opted to shatter the uneasy silence permeating between the two groups.

"Heard about the news?" 

"Oh, that? Hell yeah!" Raijin responded. "Best news I ever heard in a long time, ya know."

Seifer remained silent while training his eyes toward the six. Despite Rinoa's efforts, his scarred visage still reflected a slight trace of reluctance and uncertainty. And though it wasn't anymore displaying the vicious expression of enmity it once did one year ago, it likewise wasn't showing much sign of benevolence or contriteness. He was still, after all, the same proud and lofty Seifer. However, his face assumed a softer look when his gaze fixed on Quistis.

"Instructor"

"Seifer all things considered, I am quite glad that you're back. Same goes for all of you."

"LIKEWISE." A smirking Fujin retorted, after which she landed a solid elbow in Raijin's solar plexus when his finger began to make their way to his nose.

"Squall." Seifer shot out, which elicited a sturdy look from the SeeD commander. "Same time, same place. Tomorrow. What do you say?"

"You can bet on it." Squall snapped back. Rinoa's face assumed a slight look of alarm, but it was nevertheless instantly erased by a short glance from Fujin, who seemed to be telling her that boys will always be boys.

Deeming their business done with, Seifer, Raijin and Fujin then simultaneously turned their backs to the group and started to head forth. However, the muscle-bound enforcer suddenly stopped to check his wristwatch. 

"Hey Seifer, we haven't done what we came here to do, ya know."

"Oh yeah." Seifer quipped before turning back. "Raijin, Fujin, include all of them to the list."

"List? What list?" Irvine wondered out loud. His questioning remark was immediately followed by Zell's exasperated groan.

"Oh man, this isn't happening! I just bought that new T-board."

"You can bet your ass it's happening, Chicken-wuss." Seifer snidely shot back. "The disciplinary committee is back."

* * *

****

Epilogue 

He sat quietly with crossed legs in front of the unassuming magic lamp he once used as a channel between his dark kingdom and the material plane. Beneath his obscured visage, a wry smile lined his grotesque lips.

Earlier, Diablos stood supreme amidst the cowering figure of Tengu, who was vehemently begging for mercy. Turning a deaf ear on the Ogre-Bat's pleas, the dark Guardian used his mighty Gravity-based powers in conjuring a crushing suction well that violently compressed Tengu's hideous form inside the otherdimensional relic. He can still hear the futile howls of the bat creature, a fading resonance that degraded from thunderous to shrill, as he was absorbed inside the lamp.

"NO! ONE MORE CHANCE! THAT'S ALL I ASK!!! ONE MORE CHanceeeee"

Diablos then took hold of the magic lamp, playfully shuffling it between his blackened fingers. It quivered, indicating telltale signs of desperate protests emanating from its interiors. His hidden smile grew even wider.

"You will get your last chance, Tengu. That I promise." The GF muttered as he hurled the relic back to the physical dimension. "In the form of unreserved servitude. When the hands of another intruding warrior violates your domain to call upon your services. Thus is your sentence exacted."

**~ THE END ~**


End file.
